What to do if your art preferences change.
Original art is expensive. It should be. It is a labor of love and the original master after all. Large prints can also be expensive, especially limited prints. When you are about to drop serious money on things like art and interior design, one big question that might come up is: What if my style changes?
What if my tastes and desires change enough that I no longer even like my art pieces that I spent so much time researching and hunting and so much money collecting?
Well, it happens. That is why it is good to know how to store artwork. Not everything is meant to live on your walls forever. However, do not let a fear of preference-change hold you back from collecting. Even if you do have a big change of tastes and preferences, all is not lost. There are several ways to address this problem.
Storage
I just mentioned this one. If you have a space in your home that is dry, dark, and temperate, you can wrap and store your artwork until you either decide you like it again or decide what to do with it. The nice thing about storing it, is you don’t have to make a big decision right away. Who knows, maybe your kids decide they love that painting some day. Maybe you change your mind. Maybe you have a cool, creepy mansion with a haunted attic and have all kinds of original paintings up there being protected by a poltergeist. Plenty of people change out their art seasonally or annually in order to prevent boredom. If you have the storage space and resources to do such a thing, go for it.
New Frames
OK, I know this sounds overly simple, but hear me out. The framing of a piece can completely change the style of a painting. That landscape might feel heavy and gaudy in that huge, ornate Victorian style frame covered in gold shellac. However, that same landscape might re-inspire your love of it when placed in a minimalist, modern chrome frame. You can also play around with re-framing some and leaving others unframed and rough-edged.
Gallery Wall Configurations
Experiment with restyling your collection by changing around your placement. Creating a gallery wall or re-configuring your installation can make your collection feel new again. You could rearrange by style, genre, color, framing, etc.
Do It All
Seriously.
There is no reason you can’t re-frame or reconfigure your art installations every few years. Cycling decor in and out can be fun, efficient, and effective. Sometimes our new modern obsession with minimalism and de-cluttering can make us LESS efficient because we end up throwing things out too quickly. I’m not saying we should all become hoarders, but there’s no shame in keeping some things even if you decide they don’t fit your scheme in the moment. Shopping through your own closets can be fun, and definitely more budget friendly. Collecting treasures is somewhat of a lost art these days. Perhaps try the vintage idea of NOT getting rid of everything you have not used in the last five minutes.
Favorite Art Supplies for Paintings
