Ideas for living with art

Guides, essays and references on choosing, hanging and understanding art prints.

Visual Rhythm in Art: Repetition Without Monotony

A row of windows, waves, columns. Visual rhythm comes from repetition and from variation. The types of rhythm, and how to spot and use…

Terracotta, ochre, sand. Blue, teal, green. Neighbouring colours make calm harmonies. What they are, how to spot them in art, and how to use…

Buying art online is easy, but you can't touch the paper. What to check in the listing, how to read the photos, and your…

Frame glass reflects the window, the lamp and you. How to position light, camera and picture to photograph a framed print at home with…

A3 is 29.7 × 42 cm; 30 × 40 is just that. They look interchangeable, but their proportions differ and they won't fit the…

Before an edition is printed, a proof is made to check the colour. The kinds of proof, what they are for, and what A.P.…

Flat or rolled, by hand or by courier. How to protect an unframed print for a house move, a trip or a delivery, and…

Spraying cleaner straight onto frame glass can seep round the edges and stain the paper. How to clean glass and acrylic safely, and what…

Cooler in the morning, warmer at night. Why printed colours shift with the light, what metamerism is, and why a screen never quite matches…

Bleed is extra image beyond the trim line, cut away after printing. What it is for, what the safe area is, and what full…

Fine paper creases with one careless move. How to unpack a print, hold it, rest it and frame it without marks, and what to…