How to buy art as a gift

Tips on choosing creative Christmas presents

Tis the season and all that with many of us scrambling around the stores, both real and online, trying to find the perfect present for our loved ones.

People sometimes steer clear of buying art as a gift as it can seem too personal, but we think art can make the perfect present as it shows thought and it is always memorable.

To help make gift giving easier for you, we’ve scoured the internet to round-up the top tips for buying art as a Christmas present and added a few of our own too.

Saatchi Art offers great advice including:

• Look for clues in in people’s interior styling and decorations, using their personal style or favourite colours to help choose art they love.
• Consider their passions and favourite things and whether these can be incorporated.
• Small can have a big impact so don’t think be put off by small sized paintings or sculptures.

And we think the folks at Artsy have hit the nail on the head with these pearls of wisdom:

• Consider their space – do they live in an apartment with limited space, do they rent or do they own a detached home with plenty of wall space?
• Choose art that can be framed inexpensively – many people like to choose their own frames but the size of the artwork can make framing expensive. Consider buying art that can fit into a store-bought frame.

Finally, ArtMine has these practical suggestions:

• Invite them to an art gallery with you and engage them in conversations about art, which will give you clues about what they like and don’t like.
• Set a realistic budget and don’t overdo it.
• Understand the returns policy just in case the present didn’t hit the spot.

From our perspective, we think you should trust your instincts. If the gift is for someone you love, you’ll know whether a piece of art will appeal to them or not.

And if you’re nervous about buying art, opt for a book about art instead! Books never go out of fashion and they make a great arty table display too.

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Looking for an art-inspired Christmas present? We have signed copies of ‘Becoming Michelangelo: Apprenticing to the Master, and Discovering the Artist through His Drawings’ by Dr Alan Pascuzzi available for sale.     

In this extraordinary book, Alan Pascuzzi recounts the young Michelangelo’s journey from student to master, using the artist’s drawings to chart his progress and offering unique insight into the true nature of his mastery.

Contact sara@lifefullcolour.com to secure a copy today.