Tips for Choosing Feng Shui Paintings and Art

Introduction to Feng Shui and Wall Art

Feng Shui, which translates to “wind water” from Chinese, is an ancient practice focused on harmonizing energy flow within living and working spaces. The philosophy aims to strike a balance between the yin and yang forces to cultivate positive chi and attract good fortune.

When designing Feng Shui home and office interiors, thoughtful wall art placement is key. Wall hangings interact directly with the surrounding environment and can profoundly impact the overall atmosphere. Properly positioned paintings, tapestries and photographs can invite prosperity, tranquility, and abundance according to Feng Shui principles.

The first step is using the Feng Shui bagua map to understand the energy zones within a space. This octagonal grid contains eight trigram symbols that map different life aspirations to sections of a home or room. Once you know the bagua areas, wall art and decorative pieces can be strategically hung to enhance the corresponding energies. For example, placing a painting with flowing water in the wealth zone boosts financial luck. When art synergizes with the intended Feng Shui goals, the result is a harmonious flow of chi and an uplifting environment.

Understanding the Feng Shui Bagua Map

The bagua map is a critical tool used in feng shui to help align your home or office with positive energy flows. Bagua literally translates to “eight trigrams” and refers to the eight aspirational life areas in feng shui philosophy – career, knowledge, family, wealth, fame, relationships, children, and helpful people.

The traditional bagua map is an octagonal grid containing the eight trigrams of the I Ching. To apply bagua in your home, imagine standing in your entryway facing inside your home. The area in front of you represents your career zone. As you turn clockwise around your home, you pass through each aspirational zone in sequence.

Here are some tips for applying bagua:

Draw a rough floor plan of your home and overlay the bagua map on top. Mark which life area each room and section corresponds to.
Position items related to each life area in their matching bagua zone. For example, place work files in your career zone or books in your knowledge zone.
For wall art and paintings, choose artwork with themes and symbols that align with the bagua area. Hang wealth paintings like coins or prosperity trees in your wealth zone.
Use bagua when arranging furniture. Face your sofa towards your relationships zone to improve bonds. Have a commanding desk in your career zone.
Adjust placement if rooms don’t line up perfectly. Having the foot of your bed in your relationship zone can disrupt that area of your life.

Following bagua principles allows you to harness the natural energy maps already present in your environment. With some thoughtful arrangement, your home or office can nurture each key area and help you achieve balance.

The Five Feng Shui Elements in Art

Feng shui recognizes five major elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each element represents specific energies and properties. Incorporating art and paintings symbolizing the elements is an excellent way to activate their energy in your home.

The five elements interact in a continuous cycle of creation and destruction. Wood fuels Fire, Fire creates Earth (ash), Earth contains Metal, Metal carries Water (as in a bucket), and Water nourishes Wood.

Wood

The Wood element represents growth, vitality, health, and creativity. Paintings depicting dense forests, towering trees, wooden objects, or the color green can strengthen the Wood energy. Wood energy offers refreshing energy and new beginnings.

Fire

The Fire element represents passion, fame, excitement, leadership, and high aspirations. Use paintings with flames, candles, fireplaces, as well as the colors red, orange, pink and purple to activate the Fire energy. Fire energy brings strong enthusiasm.

Earth

The Earth element represents stability, balance, and a sense of grounding. Paintings with mountains, crystals, plants, flowers, and earthy tones of yellow, brown and beige support the Earth element. Earth energy provides comfort and strength.

Metal

The Metal element represents precision, order, logic and organization. Paintings of cars, grooming sets, instruments, and metallic colors like white, gray and gold nurture the Metal energy. Metal energy creates structure and discipline.

Water

The Water element represents flow, wisdom, calmness, and income. Use paintings of oceans, lakes, waterfalls, or the colors blue, black and aqua to enhance Water energy. Water energy inspires reflection and meaningful dreams.

Carefully selecting paintings based on their dominant element is an impactful way to strengthen specific energies within your home. Experiment with integrating multiple elemental themes to achieve balance.

The Importance of Color in Feng Shui Art

Colors play a significant role in Feng Shui and can be used to activate or enhance specific energies. When selecting artwork for your home, pay attention to the palette and how it aligns with Feng Shui elements and their associated colors.

Color Meanings in Feng Shui

Red – Associated with the fire element, evokes passion, excitement, and action
Orange – Also connected to the fire element, encourages socialization and creativity
Purple – Linked to fire as well, inspires spirituality and transformation
Blue – Representing the water element, promotes calm, relaxation, and flow
Green – For the wood element, signifies growth, health, and renewal
White – Connected to metal, enhances clarity, focus, and organization
Black – Also tied to the metal element, provides grounding and strength
Gray – Linked to metal too, brings sophistication, intuition, and balance
Brown – Represents the earth element, encourages stability and nurturing
Yellow/Beige – Also signifies earth energy, boosts optimism and confidence

Choosing Colors Aligned to Elements

When selecting art, consider what Feng Shui element you want to emphasize in that space or area of your home. For example:

Water element artwork for the career area
Fire colors in social spaces like living room
Wood tones in health focused rooms
Earth colors for grounding in bedroom
Metal accents for concentration in office

Recommended Color Palettes

Some palettes that work well for Feng Shui wall art:

Blues, greens, browns – water, wood, earth
Reds, purples, pinks – fire energy
Grays, whites, blacks – metal element
Greens, yellows, light wood tones – wood, earth tones
Blues, aquas, sand colors – water, earth

The colors you choose for artwork can make a meaningful difference in activating the intended Feng Shui energies. When selecting pieces, be mindful of the palette and how it aligns with desired elements. Vibrant colors tend to be more energizing, while neutral tones create a calming effect. Find balance in your space.

Matching Artwork to the Seasons

In Feng Shui, it’s recommended to decorate your home with artworks that match the current season’s energy. This helps promote harmony and balance.

Late Summer

Late summer is ruled by the earth element in Feng Shui. Good art choices would feature earthy tones like yellow, brown, and terra cotta. Mountain landscapes, adobe structures, and images of fields or gardens would be suitable as well. Crystals and semi-precious stones also represent the earth element.

Autumn

Autumn is associated with the metal element, so artwork with grays, blacks, whites, and metallic colors are ideal. Images of trees shedding leaves, ridges, and stormy skies connect with autumn energy. You could also hang art featuring things made of metal, like vintage automobiles or industrial cityscapes.

Winter

The water element dominates winter, making cool blues and greens appropriate. Snowy forests, icy lakes, and ocean scenes evoke the tranquil, inward energy of the season. For more symbolic water art, choose images of rain, clouds, or waterfalls. Avoid fiery reds and oranges during this time.

Spring

Spring represents new beginnings and growth, embodied by the wood element. Pastel greens, pinks, and florals typically suit this season. Bright forest scenes full of blossoming trees, plants, leaves, and vines promote that flourishing energy. Avoid stiff formal artwork in favor of free-flowing asymmetrical designs.

Early Summer

The fire element rules early summer, so opt for art with reds, oranges, and passionate purples. Warm beach landscapes, deserts, and images of the sun make good choices. You can also hang modern art with bold shapes and colors for an energizing look. Steer clear of cool blues and greens this season.

Selecting Wealth Feng Shui Art

Feng shui principles teach that surrounding yourself with imagery depicting wealth and abundance can help attract prosperous chi energy. When selecting art for wealth areas like the southeast and east sectors of your home or office, look for motifs known to carry lucky connotations according to feng shui.

Symbolism of Prosperity Animals

Certain animals are considered especially auspicious for wealth in feng shui due to their symbolic meaning. For example, images of dragons are highly prized for their bold yang energy. Dragons are mythical creatures associated with ambition, leadership, and flourishing success. Frogs represent fertility and abundance, making them another popular wealth animal in feng shui art.

Other animals believed to invite prosperity include:

Elephant – strength and determination
Horse – victory, success, and speed
Ox – hard work and diligence
Phoenix – rebirth and new opportunities

Decorating wealth areas with art featuring these prosperous creatures can help energize your space with their positive attributes. Opt for stylized renditions of the animals done in bold colors and strong lines.

Wealth Ships and Koi Fish

Nautical and aquatic themes are also common in feng shui wealth art. Chinese wealth ships depicted with billowing sails and sections of gold ingots are specifically intended to invite money into the home. Koi fish are another motif connected to worldly success in feng shui. Their determination swimming upstream is an inspiring symbol of perseverance leading to abundance.

Wealth ship and koi fish artwork with bold reds, oranges, blacks, and golds make powerful additions to financial areas in the home or office.

Gallery of Sample Wealth Art

[Dragon wall art example link]

[Frog statue example link]

[Wealth ship painting example link]

[Koi pond wall mural example link]

Surrounding yourself with imagery reflecting the principles of prosperity in feng shui, like auspicious animals and nautical themes, can help shift the energy to attract wealth and success into your environment. Select pieces that speak to you and make your financial areas feel uplifting.

Analyzing the Energy of Artwork

When selecting artwork for your home, it’s important not just to consider the depicted elements and colors, but also the energy conveyed through the composition and imagery.

The Energy of Lines and Composition

Feng shui principles advise paying close attention to the energy expressed through the lines, shapes, and composition in a painting or wall art. Flowing curvilinear lines and asymmetric compositions with a good balance between empty and filled space are recommended for promoting harmonious chi. Jagged lines, symmetrical compositions, and visual “clutter” can disrupt or stagnate energy.

Choosing Positive vs Negative Imagery

In addition to composition, the actual subject matter portrayed in wall art holds significance in feng shui. Images showing positive symbols and uplifting scenes, such as nature, flowers, spiritual figures, or cultural symbols are recommended. Avoid selecting paintings or artworks showing violence, disasters, warfare, storms, predators attacking prey, etc. Even if visually striking, negatives images like these bring the energy of conflict, strife, and destruction into your living space.

What to Avoid

When evaluating potential paintings or wall art for their energetic impact, avoid pieces depicting:

Natural disasters – floods, fire, tornadoes, lightning
Warfare and violence – battles, guns, crime
Interpersonal drama – arguments, grief, sadness
Aggressive predatory animals – sharks, alligators, tigers
Stormy seascapes – giant waves, sinking ships, drowning risk

Instead seek art that creates a sense of harmony, positivity, growth and flow. Uplifting images will bring those energetic frequencies into your home.

Recommended Feng Shui Artists

Feng shui art can have a powerful impact on the energy flow in a space. When selecting pieces, it’s recommended to seek out reputable artists who specialize in feng shui and understand how to infuse intention and auspicious symbols into their art. Here are some top feng shui artists to consider:

Janet Farrar

Janet Farrar is an award-winning feng shui artist based in California. She is especially known for her prosperity paintings that incorporate symbols like koi fish, waterfalls, and gold ingots. Her contemporary abstract pieces combine bold colors and fluid shapes to promote harmony and abundance.

You can view Janet’s work at her website JanetFarrar.com or at the Heaven and Earth Feng Shui Gallery in Los Angeles. Limited edition signed prints are available.

Lillian Too

World-renowned feng shui master Lillian Too also creates her own line of feng shui-inspired art. Her paintings and scrolls feature auspicious motifs like the localized bagua, scenes with water and mountains, and positive symbols. The art contains blessings and good wishes from Lillian Too herself.

Browse Lillian Too’s feng shui art collection on her website WOFS.com. Her pieces can also be found at feng shui shops and holistic markets.

Lisa Fallon

Lisa Fallon is an Irish artist who infuses Celtic symbols into her feng shui art. She is especially known for feng shui paintings depicting lush nature scenes and whimsical fantasy creatures meant to attract helpful chi. Lisa also creates custom art incorporating clients’ birth dates and Chinese astrology.

You can find an extensive collection of Lisa’s art on her Etsy shop. Original paintings and limited edition prints are available. Lisa ships internationally.

When selecting feng shui art, be sure to choose intentionally from reputable sources. Genuine handmade art from respected feng shui artists will have the most potent, auspicious energy.

Achieving Balance with Wall Art

When selecting art for your home, it’s important to aim for overall balance according to feng shui principles. This balance applies to balancing the five feng shui elements, balancing color choices, and balancing imagery and symbols.

Balancing the Five Elements

Wood, fire, earth, metal and water should be represented somewhat evenly in your artwork selections. For example, don’t choose five metal element paintings and none representing water.
If your Ba Gua analysis shows a certain element is completely missing from a room, focus on choosing 1-2 pieces of art depicting that element.
Don’t worry about achieving a perfect match of 20% for each element. The goal is overall representation rather than a rigid formula.

Balancing Colors

Choose a color palette that feels harmonious to you. Complementary or analogous schemes often work well.
Avoid selecting too many vibrant hot colors like red and orange or too many cool colors like blues and greens.
Neutral earth tones and metallics help balance and ground colorful art selections.

Balancing Imagery

Balanced feng shui art will have a mix of yin and yang symbols. Yin imagery includes water, flowers, goddesses. Yang images include mountains, dragons, horses.
Balance realism with abstract art. Mix paintings of landscapes with modern geometric designs.
Balancing subject matter creates a sense of harmony. For example, pair a sailing ship painting with a lighthouse painting.

Following these tips will help you curate wall art with balanced feng shui energy. Display art intentionally in spaces where it can infuse the desired elemental frequencies.

Summary and Next Steps

In this guide, we covered the key principles of using art and wall hangings to enhance the feng shui energy in your home or office. Proper placement, colors, imagery and energy lines are all important considerations when selecting art.

To quickly recap, here are some of the main feng shui tips to keep in mind:

Use the bagua map to determine the best location for your art
Select images that align with the feng shui element of that area
Choose colors that correspond to the bagua area or feng shui season
Focus on uplifting, positive imagery like nature scenes or spiritual symbols
Avoid art with chaotic energy or depictions of violence and disaster
Pay attention to the flow of energy in the composition of the piece

If you’d like to learn more about incorporating feng shui into your home decor, here are some additional resources:

[Feng Shui Art Book] – An in-depth guide to choosing fine art for harmony
[Feng Shui Decor Website] – More tips for arranging furnishings and art
[Online Feng Shui Course] – Video modules explaining feng shui principles

As a final reminder, approach feng shui as a holistic practice that balances all the elements of your space. Art is one important piece in creating an environment that nourishes you mentally, physically and spiritually. Focus on pieces that speak to you visually and emotionally. With some thoughtful intention in the placement and selection, your art can become a beautiful conduit of positive chi.