MANY Novocastrians believe that our beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world, so it is unsurprising that the coastal landscape is a fast-growing trend in our art choices.
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Lara O'Donnell, interior designer at Habitat, says the artwork in the shop primarily caters towards the beach trend. Habitat's resident artist is Cheryl Cusick, a Novocastrian artist who has achieved major placings in over a hundred art competitions. Cusick's work is heavily influenced by the landscapes of Newcastle, particularly our coastal ones.
"Cheryl's work is very popular because she's a local artist painting local scenes and people seem to have gravitated towards that trend," O'Donnell says.
Cusick has been painting for more than 45 years, beginning as a high school art teacher at 18 after studying at the National Art School in Newcastle. For the past 20 years, Cheryl has worked full-time as an artist, creating dreamy impressionist-era landscapes that focus on movement and composition.
"Most requests from Novocastrians are for Newcastle scenes with increasing demand for non-representational work, that is, abstract art. Sizes vary but recent years have seen a surge from clients for larger pieces of art," she says.
O'Donnell agrees, saying there has been a noticeable shift towards large-scale pieces in Newcastle recently.
"The size of art people request has definitely changed over the past few years, rather than wanting a bunch of little ones, people are more inclined to want larger pieces. People in Newcastle tend to avoid clutter," O'Donnell says.
"But it's all about scale. You don't want a small artwork on a big wall - if you are going to hang small artworks you would typically feature them all together as a mosaic."
O'Donnell also advises that the decision to purchase art should be a measured consideration, as the piece "should be an investment" in retaining longevity in the home.
"It's an important aspect to any room and the choice has to be really well thought out. You've got to make sure you love it because you want to be able to have it up for years.
"It's also important to make sure it's versatile for the house as well, which allows you to change things around in the room and keep the artwork."
Cusick says the best way to ensure your artwork is timeless is to communicate with the artist regarding style, form and composition.
"Speaking to the artist is very important, as an artist can help you translate your gut feeling, learn your likes and dislikes and turn your ideas into a piece of artwork you will be happy to live with and enjoy for many, many years," she says.
Once you've found that perfect piece, O'Donnell says placement can make or break the effect of the artwork.
"Art placement and layout is really important. I do the layout in the room and it can include the placement of the piece in terms of how it looks when people walk into the room," she says.
"It's important to ensure that the height of the piece is correct, which may involve someone coming to hang it for you. You need to look at the position of the artwork - it should be at eye level just like a mirror. Most people think this is too low but standing back from the piece and viewing it at this height gives it a lot more impact."
O'Donnell says the value in employing an artist to create artwork for the home rather than purchasing a pre-made piece lies in the individuality of the piece.
"Cheryl can work around existing styles in people's homes - we often will give her a guide of what we're looking for, whether it's beaches or landscapes," she says.
"Each one of her pieces is completely individual and one of a kind, which is wonderful."
