Most of us spend considerable time with paint chips and samples of wall paint when we are decorating. We get swatches of fabric when we are adding new upholstery pieces and samples of counter tops and floor covering. Then when it comes time to accessorize, to add vases and art, etc., some of us get lax.
It is possible when buying a high end piece of art to bring it home on approval. However, most of us do not invest in high dollar pieces of art. We can use the same care however, by selecting prints from designers who create with decorators in mind.
My 2020 Designer Collection was created with decorators in mind. I used to decorate furniture showrooms, design trade show displays and decorate model homes. Frequently I would find a piece of art that seems to fit the spot and discover that some of the tones or colors in the piece clashed or got drowned out by other pieces of furnishings in the decor. I decided to solve that by designing prints with images that come with various backgrounds.
An easy tool to use in helping you select the best background for a print is your smart phone or tablet. Open the video to the image you prefer and hold your phone up in the room where you are considering hanging the art. Hold it near the wall, the upholstered furniture, the floor covering. This helps you eliminate some backgrounds immediately. You can select those that appeal to you and narrow them down by going through the process again with only those backgrounds until you decide which is your favorite.
If considering a large print, you might want to order a small one for a few dollars before investing in the more expensive larger one. This can be helpful when you are designing from the ground up. It is also helpful for decorators to use with clients. Along with sketches of the room, paint chips, floor covering samples, upholstery and drapery swatches, a small sample of the proposed art can be included at a nominal cost. There are some clients who might enjoy framing a 5x7 of a print which will eventually become a large dominant focal point of their new office, home or redecorated room.
Large prints on canvas can run between $200 to $600 yet a 5x7 print is usually between $7 and $20 wholesale. Some artist will give you credit your print purchase as a discount on larger pieces. I produce 5x7 and 8x10 prints in-house. Larger sizes are sent to outside fabricators. Some of my designs are available from ArtPal.com. Wholesale pricing and decorator discounts are only available directly from the artist, not through ArtPal.
When working with artists, some will welcome receiving a jpg of the proposed room or setting where the piece of art is to be hung. They may have original pieces or designs which are not featured on their website or the print on demand art sites which will work in that setting. You may be surprised and thrilled at the response you get from an artist when you make a direct inquiry. I prefer receiving them by e-mail. This allows me to examine them without them becoming too big of an interruption when I am in the studio,, working with a client or writing.
When decorators are designing interiors for hotels and spec home for companies which have multiple subdivisions, some print designers will sell a license to portions of their portfolio of copyrighted work so that the client can select multiple copies of the same work for use in specific properties for a fee. The client can select their own fabricator or printer, pay them directly, have the artist order and transmit the design to the printer, and the client pay the printer directly. The artist gets a set fee for the license. The client can use the printer which they prefer without having the artist mark up each print with an artist or gallery profit margin. This is helpful when there are five or more of each print needed for various location.
Here are a couple of short videos which shows the backgrounds available with one of my more popular floral designer prints.
