ABOUT
| A Guide to Buying Art Art can be intimidating. Nonetheless many of my collectors were first time buyers. The most important thing about buying art, is to look for what resonates with you. It's a very personal decision. When I sit in my booth, I love it when people ask me questions. It gives me a chance to add a personal touch to the art, as well as educate viewers and buyers about art. Art can be described in many different ways. Here's a quick guide for basic style descriptions: Figurative Art: a work of art that represents a person or animal. Abstract art: Art that does not represent recognizable objects. Here's a link to a Matisse that is a good example of Abstract Art http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow_Curtain.jpg Impressionism: A loose, immediate visual impression of a scene. Think Monet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_Monet,_Impression,_soleil_levant,_1872.jpg Realism: A representation of objects, landscapes, people, etc, as they actually are. The Mona Lisa is considered Realism. http://0.tqn.com/d/painting/1/0/C/f/1/Getty-MonaLisaWeb2.jpg Surrealism: Works of art based on dreams, painted in a realistic way. Salvidor Dali was a Surrealist, as well as one of the few female Surrealists, Remedios Varo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Useless_Science.jpg Expressionism: Here a work of art is less concerned with looking exactly like what the artist is painting, but is more concerned with how the art evokes emotion, moods, or ideas. Remember this painting by Edvard Munch? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Scream.jpg There are many more styles, and sub-styles of art out there, but this is a good start. I would say my work lies somewhere in the range of the Surreal, Figurative, Expressionist styles. I haven't 'named' my art, but if I were to describe it, I would probably use the term 'Surreal'. The most important part of buying art is, do you love it? Do you like what it has to say, and how it makes you feel? The next aspect of buying art is of course, the buying. Know what you are willing to spend. Know your budget! This is especially important when commissioning a piece. It's much easier for an artist to know what they can do for you with this information. I once had a month long communication with a client who wanted a huge painting of a cow. The first question I asked her was, 'what's your budget?' She said she didn't have one. At the end of the month (after long negotiations about the content of the piece) she asked how much it would be. When I told her she was shocked (even though she'd bought many works from me in the past and this one was 5x the size), she renegged on the project. There went two months of rent! I hope this article has given you some insights into some basic art lingo, as well as information that will help you to feel less intimidated when buying art, or asking questions about art. Check out my Podcast interview with Elizabeth Grigg. She's an outstanding interviewer. http://egrigg9000.podbean.com/2011/11/04/episode-10-of-the-egrigg9000-podcast-juli-adams/ |
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