Hanging Bird Prints

Some of my vintage bird prints along a hallway. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Hanging Bird Prints

This is inspiration for those of you who have saved prints but still don’t have them hanging in their permanent location.

Over the years, I have collected a variety of vintage and new bird prints. They were partly inspired by a local bird artist whose original paintings I could not afford. When I first came across vintage bird prints, I would pick them up at thrift stores and sales, then tuck them away for later framing. When a couple of the prints were in good frames, those went up on a wall.

Last year, a workman damaged my mother’s Japanese silk print hanging in the hallway. The insurance company was fabulous, finding someone who could repair the silk.

When I hung it back up in its space in my business office hallway, I was reminded of the other bird prints. The Japanese screen is a scene of birds in trees over peony bushes, one of my favorite late spring flowers.

My mother’s Japanese print that inspired where to place the rest of bird prints. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I didn’t realize just how many I had collected over the years until I placed them all together in the hallway, starting with this large print.

This first bird print started the collection. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

They were mostly in oak frames, although a couple had more of a washed out color to the frames. Five still needed frames so I scoured local thrift shops to find something that was complimentary.

I didn’t want perfect matches but more similar colors and frame patterns. Actually it was harder to just find frames that fit the prints so I focused on that part of this project first.

The bird prints are not in matching frames but they do have similar trim. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

On the right side now is a print of western bluebirds and, on the left side, the side closest to my business office, a print of the bird artist who first inspired this collection.

David Plank is now a renown Missouri bird artist but when I first met him several decades ago, he was just starting his career. I made the mistake of telling myself I could buy his original work later. By the time I had the funds to do so, his prices were out of my reach so I settled on finding vintage bird prints.

My Eastern Bluebird print signed by Missouri artist David Plank. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

When I started to hang the prints, I thought I would have to reframe a few of the prints.

After I had them spaced and all on one wall, they looked quite nice and I have decided I don’t need to reframe any of them.

The older oak frames were treated with Howard RestoraFinish oak color and left to dry before hanging on the wall. The rest were all treated with Howard Feed N Wax to rehydrate the frame wood. The two Howard Furniture Refinishing products in a furniture refinishing kit are my go-to whenever I am working with cleaning up anything out of wood.

So here is the collection of bird prints now finished and hanging in the hallway opposite my mother’s Japanese silk screen.

The row of bird prints guiding me down my hallway. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I love walking by these prints, it makes me feel like I am also in the trees among the birds!

Charlotte