I met with the marvellous Anna Mollekin recently, to find out more about what inspires her art and what she loves about her chosen career. Read my latest blog below for hints and tips from Anna about art placement and what makes this clever lady tick.

What do you love most about your job?

What I love most about being an artist is the honour of having someone connect emotionally with my artwork. It’s a proud moment when I see photos of my Artwork Prints hanging in people’s homes, happy customers wearing my art on my Doodlewear clothing collaboration, as stylish homeware and displayed in someone’s garden or part of a chic interior available through Just A Little Bit Cool.

Influences and inspiration

I am a proud Kiwi and am inspired by our beautiful country, exploring themes of New Zealand, and it’s flora and fauna.

Port Charles inspires a lot of my work in the Coromandel, New Zealand. My family are from this area, and I grew up holidaying here as a child with my extended family. I have so many happy memories there, it’s my happy place. From our native birds, the Tuis and Fantails to the beautiful flora Kowhai and Pohutukawa, this area is being replenished with a lot of New Zealand native species.

My daughter Halle also inspires my work, she is 12 and is so free and experimental with her art. She always pushes me to explore new things and techniques.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I am creating art happily with my art gallery studio.

Five things to consider when selecting the right size artwork for your room

1. WHAT IS THE ROOM SIZE?:

It’s essential to choose the right size artwork for your room to avoid the artwork looking underwhelming or overwhelming in a space. It is recommended that an artwork should take up about 50 – 75% of a wall that has no furnishings. Also consider in a room how far back you will be able to stand to view the artwork. If it’s a real large artwork, can you stand back far enough from it to get a relaxed view? Or is your room too small and the artwork looks uneasy and in your face? 

2. WHAT IS THE SHAPE OF THE WALL?:

Artwork needs room to breathe. Whitespace can affect how the artwork is seen and assists defining the artwork. It can help draw the eye and prevent it from looking too crowded. Contemplate the shape of the wall and the orientation of the artwork. Landscape orientation artwork tends to work better on wide rectangle-shaped walls. Portrait orientation artwork can work well on narrow width walls to allow breathing space.

‘Crowned Pohutukawa’ by artist Anna Mollekin

3. HOW HIGH SHOULD YOU HANG THE ARTWORK?

It is recommended that you hang artwork with the centre of the piece being at eye level. This is typically around 1.5m from the floor.

Tip: If you are unsure about how the size or placement of artwork will look on a wall, blue-tack up some scrap paper at scale and positioning. Alternatively you could mask it out with masking tape. Stand back and view the wall. This will allow you to envision more clearly if the artwork size looks balanced and in proportion before you buy it or put holes in your walls to hang it.

‘Sandy Bay’ by artist Anna Mollekin

4. WHAT ART SIZE AND POSITIONING WILL WORK WITH YOUR FURNITURE?

Experts recommend that the artwork width should fill about 2/3 to 3/4 of the length of the furniture. When hanging artwork above a table, couch or bed headboard etc, it is recommended that the breathing room between the top of the furniture and bottom edge of the artwork should be around 150-300mm, (considering eye level).

Tip: If you are in love with an art print or photograph but it does not come in the size that you need for your room, contact the artist and enquire if they can do the custom size for you.

5. YOUR ARE IN LOVE WITH SOME ARTWORK, BUT IT IS TOO SMALL FOR YOUR SPACE, WHAT CAN I DO?

If you don’t have one large artwork, you can hang multiple smaller pieces together to fill the best visual footprint for a wall. Have some fun and add your personality and a focal point to a room by grouping complementary framed artwork prints, photographs, art canvas and wall decor.

Hanging three complimentary artwork together as a triptych always look great too and it is balanced and harmonious. It gives you good wall coverage and creates a sense of movement and leads the viewers eyes across the artworks.

Tip: Before you start hanging, arrange all the pieces on the floor to plan and experiment where you would like to hang them on the wall and the spacing between each.

‘Kiwi’s Lace’, ‘Fantail’s Lace’ and ‘Huia’s Lace by artist Anna Mollekin