Wall colour ideas for behind paintings

15 support wall colour ideas for abstract and landscape paintings.

A cool abstract painting
To see more of this project see "Cool abstract painting"

Have you ever asked yourself, "what colour should I paint the wall behind that painting?"

Well, if you have, here's some suggestions for matching support wall paint colours to the actual style of your artwork.

Abstract paintings usually pop hanging against bright, rich, deep colours – in many ways they are like an extension of the paint on the canvas. On the other hand, landscape paintings are more detailed, showing scenes of beaches with waves crashing against the shore or busy city streets in Paris or Venice. These can benefit from neutral tones like beige, cream or white so that the eye can focus on the painting better.

Having said that, though, many art galleries around the world choose bold wall paint colours in their exhibitions of landscape paintings. For example, in the Louvre, entire rooms are painted in rich scarlet and large landscape paintings in gold gilt frames happily hang against the red tones.

In the Louvre's Rembrandt room, the neutral approach has been taken but with a subtle twist – instead of cream or ivory, light violet walls sit behind his canvasses. So feel free to listen to your own artistic intuition and add a splash of colour behind your artworks – even if they are landscapes.

If you'd like to stick to the traditional method, though, here are some colours to consider:

Abstract paintings with warm tones

Abstract paintings with cool tones

Landscape paintings

Once you've finished the painting and it has dried, make sure you hang up your precious artwork properly and think about adding some little spotlights above the painting to really showcase the work.

Colours mentioned in this blog...