Gallery-going
Regional galleries worth the drive
Why Australia's regional public galleries reward a road trip, seven well-established ones to plan around, and how to fit a gallery into a weekend away.
The whole wall
Wall notes
Everything pinned up so far, newest first: how to look, where to go, what to ask before buying and how to keep a painting well once it is home.
Books and learning
Teaching yourself art history online, one week at a time
Free collection websites, museum courses, structured reading and a weekly looking habit: a practical plan for teaching yourself art history online at home.
Framing and care
Caring for a canvas painting at home
Light, humidity, dust, carrying, slack canvas and storage: the everyday care that keeps an oil or acrylic painting on canvas sound, and what to leave alone.
Books and learning
Art books on Australian painting worth keeping on the shelf
Survey histories, gallery catalogues and monographs on Australian painting: which books to start with, how to judge a catalogue, and where to find them cheaply.
First works
Collecting photographs as art without getting lost in the jargon
Editions and sizes, silver gelatin, chromogenic and pigment prints, signatures and labels, light and framing: a plain guide to living with fine art photography.
Gallery-going
Visiting the Archibald Prize and its room full of faces
Where the Archibald came from, what its rules ask of a portrait, how the Wynne, Sulman, Packing Room and People's Choice fit in, and how to look at the walls.
Framing and care
Hanging art at home, one careful step at a time
How high to hang a picture, how to space a group, picture rails versus hooks, fixings for plasterboard, brick and old plaster, and where art should never go.
First works
Prints and editions explained, from etchings to inkjet
What makes a print original, how etchings, lithographs and screenprints differ, what 12/30 and A/P mean, and what a certificate for a print should say.
Australian painting
Reading an Australian landscape painting
How Australian painters have handled light, distance and the horizon, from Heidelberg plein air to the aerial view, and how to read the marks on a canvas.
Framing and care
Framing works on paper so they last
Prints, drawings and watercolours need a different kind of frame from canvases. Mat board, hinges, glazing, spacers and backing, and what to ask your framer.
First works
Buying your first original artwork, step by step
A calm, step-by-step guide to buying a first original work: setting a budget, where to look, what to ask, and the paperwork, payment and delivery that follow.
Gallery-going
Visiting a commercial gallery for the first time
Commercial galleries are free, quiet and glad to see you. How price lists, red dots and stockrooms work, and how to walk in without feeling like an intruder.