How to Display Small Original Paintings in Your Home

I've always liked small paintings. There is something appealing about a painting that doesn't need a large wall or an entire room to make an impression. A small original can fit into a quiet corner, a hallway, a bedroom or a reading nook and become something you notice as you move through your home.

I think we sometimes underestimate what a small painting can do.

When we're looking at art in a gallery, it's easy to be drawn to the larger pieces. They naturally command attention. But once a painting is in your home, the experience is different. You see it from different distances, in different light and at different times of the day. A small painting can become part of your everyday surroundings in a very personal way.

That's something I think about when I'm painting smaller works.

Why Small Paintings Can Have a Big Presence

A small painting doesn't necessarily need a small amount of energy.

Sweeping Light, my newest 12 x 12 inch original oil painting, is a good example.

There is brilliant sunshine coming through the trees, colourful clouds moving across the sky and calm water reflecting the colours above. I wanted the painting to feel energetic and alive, even though the water itself is quiet.

I also wanted plenty of paint on the surface. The brushwork is visible and textured, and the layers of oil paint give the painting a physical quality that you don't necessarily notice when you first see it from across the room.

This is one of the reasons I enjoy working on a smaller scale. You can create something intimate without making it feel insignificant.

Think About Where You'll Experience the Painting

When people are deciding where to put a painting, I think the natural tendency is to look for an empty wall and ask, "What will fit here?"

I would turn that around. Instead, ask yourself where you would enjoy seeing the painting.

A small original can work beautifully in an intimate space like a hallway, a reading corner, a home office, beside a doorway or above a small table. These are places where you're naturally close to the painting. And being close matters.

When you stand a few feet away, you see the overall landscape. You notice the light, the colour and the composition. Move closer and you begin to see the painting itself... the brushstrokes, the texture and the way the paint has been built up on the surface.

That is a very different experience from looking at a reproduction or a photograph.

Why Texture Matters With a Small Painting

Texture is particularly important to me as an oil painter. I don't want every part of a painting to be perfectly smooth. I like seeing evidence of the process. I like the way one layer of paint sits beside another, and how a brushstroke can remain visible rather than being completely blended away.

With Sweeping Light, there is a lot of movement in the paint. The sky has energy. The sunlight moves through the trees. The reflections in the water pull some of those colours back into the lower part of the painting. The surface itself has movement because of the way the paint has been applied.

From a distance, those marks become part of the overall landscape. Up close, you can see them for what they are.

For me, that is one of the pleasures of owning an original oil painting. You're not just looking at an image of a landscape. You're seeing the actual surface of the painting... the paint, the brushwork and the decisions that went into making it.

What I Was Trying to Capture in Sweeping Light

The idea for Sweeping Light came from that particular kind of sunshine that changes a landscape almost instantly. The sun comes through the trees and suddenly everything seems brighter. The clouds become more colourful. The water picks up the colours of the sky. Even a familiar landscape can look completely different for a few minutes. Those are the moments I find myself wanting to paint.

I'm not always interested in trying to reproduce a particular place exactly. I'm more interested in capturing what it felt like to be there...to remember the light, the colour and the atmosphere.

With this painting, I wanted the calmness of the water to contrast with the energy of the sky and the brushwork. That contrast is what gives the painting its character.

Five Things I've Learned About Living With Smaller Paintings

Over the years, I've come to appreciate a few things about smaller original paintings.

1. Don't buy a painting just because you have a space to fill.

I think it's better to find a painting you genuinely love and then find the right place for it. A painting shouldn't simply solve a decorating problem. It should give you something you want to live with.

2. Look at what is around the painting.

A small painting can feel lost above a very large piece of furniture or on a huge empty wall. But beside a small table, cabinet, chair or other intimate piece of furniture, it can feel perfectly proportioned.

3. Give yourself a chance to see the painting up close.

If a painting has texture and visible brushwork, don't put it somewhere you'll only ever see it from across the room. One of the pleasures of an original painting is being able to discover those details.

4. Don't be afraid of colour.

A small painting can be a wonderful place to introduce colour into a room. It doesn't have to match everything around it. Sometimes the contrast is what makes the painting interesting.

5. Let the painting be itself.

This may be the most important one. I don't think art has to coordinate perfectly with a room. A painting can add something unexpected. It can bring a different colour, a different mood or a connection to a place that means something to you.

Choose the Painting First

This is probably the biggest difference between buying art and buying something simply to decorate a room. When you're choosing original art, I think the first question should be:

Do I love this painting?

Not, "Will it match my sofa?"

Not, "Is it the exact size of the space I have?"

Those things matter, of course, but they shouldn't be the starting point.

If you find an original painting that you keep coming back to, that's usually a good sign. Maybe it's the light. Maybe it's the colours. Maybe it reminds you of somewhere you've been. Maybe you simply can't quite explain why you like it. That's often how collecting begins.

And once you've found a painting you love, finding the right place for it becomes much easier.

Bringing a Little of the Canadian Landscape Home

For me, painting the Canadian landscape is about more than creating a picture of trees, water and sky. It's about those small moments that make you stop and look. The sunlight coming through the trees. The reflection of a colourful sky on quiet water. The feeling of being somewhere familiar and suddenly seeing it differently.

That's what I was thinking about while painting Sweeping Light. It's just 12 x 12 inches, but I wanted it to hold a lot of energy and light. I wanted it to feel like one of those brief moments in the landscape that you don't want to forget. That's what I love about having original art in a home. A painting can remind you of a place, a season or a feeling every time you walk past it. It doesn't have to be large to matter. It just has to be the right painting for you.

Sweeping Light is an original 12 x 12 inch oil painting by Canadian artist Sue Miller. If you enjoy living with original Canadian landscape art, you can explore my available paintings and find a piece that speaks to you.

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• Original Landscape Paintings

• Learn more about artist Sue Miller

• Explore Sue's travel sketches