About those leaning paintings

After you buy a painting, whether from me or from another artist, I’m sure you are more than super excited to be able to find a place to hang that painting. You may already have a wall space in mind, an empty canvas just waited to be covered in the bright colors of your newest art acquisition.

Sometimes it’s not about finding a place to hang that artpiece, it’s about making space.

How many times do we just quickly put something up on the wall with a quick hammer and nail (or command hooks) just so that the empty wall isn’t staring at us? In these cases, making space is about moving existing things around — maybe moving old wall decor pieces to a new place, or rotating artwork seasonally or yearly.

But many folks get stopped at a crucial step in the process. Feeling like everything needs to be perfected in the interior space before hanging the painting…so the painting just ends up leaning against the wall, either on a shelf, a table, or even on the floor next to the intended wall for a few weeks…a few months…maybe a year or a few. Life, and a whole list of domino-effect steps must take place before officially hanging the art — feeling the need to spackle, repaint the wall, move some furniture, and more.

Well I have some good news for you — you are not alone! You are not the only one who is leaning up artwork against well-intended walls before life and a busy schedule swept you away. In fact, it’s become more and more acceptable (and even fashionable) to actually stylize art pieces leaning rather than hanging. It feels like more casual decor. And if leaning a piece of artwork is going to mean you can see it more often, and it can bring you joy and beauty to your home, rather than it staying in a box or closet until its debut — well then, let that painting lean in all its glory!