Why Buy Art

  Why do you buy art?  Every day at a show or at the studio I encounter any number of                  customers who say “I don’t know anything about art, but I like this.”  Terrific!  That’s really all it takes to know what art to purchase.  Over the years, three trends have emerged from the crowd.  Every art purchase can be categorized in one of these three.

There are those who buy art that someone else has told them to buy.  Rather than relying on their own instinct, they buy what a friend, designer, or gallery owner has suggested to them.  There is little if any emotional attachment to the piece; it might be an “investment” (a blog for another day) or a place holder (the right color, size, shape, etc) as seen through the eyes of someone “more expert” than the buyer.

The next group I’ll call the decorative art buyers.  They may invest a bit more of their heart into the purchase, but the painting has to fit their decor, match the sofa, and/or have the same trendy look that pops out of the pages of the Pottery Barn catalog or grabs the eye when traveling the aisle at TJ Maxx.  This group is somewhat more invested in the purchase, but is still swayed by more outside forces than their inner spirit.

The third group are those that open themselves up to the experience of art from the get go and allow the art to embrace, captivate, and challenge them.  They are people who search art galleries  and shows for those treasures that will stop them in their tracks and engage them.  Whether it is a deep sense of peace, a yearning in the spirit, or a quickened heart beat, something has happened within their psyche.  These are the customers who are often overheard saying “I don’t know where I’m going to put this, but I must have it.”   They become a part of the story of the art adding their own chapter to the narrative began by the artist.

Since my motivation as a painter is to create work from my heart,  I must admit that I hope that you decide to purchase a painting I have created because it touches your spirit and heart.  I am of the belief that if you purchase art because you love it, then it will automatically fit in the home or office that you have created.  In  the midst of your environment,  it will supply you with years of joy, memories, and smiles.  Couldn’t we all use a little more joy and a few more smiles?

About the painting:  “Mind’s Eye”  it is 30×40 and is one that grabs the viewer and makes them think.  Not all like the piece, but that’s okay.  If it makes a person stop and wonder, then I have done my job.  It is available through my studio for $1350.  I offer layaway….more on all that another day.

If Trees Could Talk

    Here’s the story behind the painting….  I am often asked how I come up with the titles for my paintings.  The title for this piece, just finished yesterday has become a part of its story.  Thursday as I was finishing the tree along the left side an elderly gentleman walked in the studio.  As he quietly peered over my left shoulder he said, “If that tree could talk I bet it would have some stories to tell.”  That in itself touched me.  Then he proceeded to tell me about an old, large beech tree that “we had in our yard”.  Hit by lightening several times, hollowed out in the middle, and full of carved initials that his mother-in-law recognized, that tree continued to stand.

Wow!  When something I have painted triggers a response like that it must become a part of the story of the piece.  Interesting that I had been pondering the name choice as I painted just before he walked in.  Felt like a kiss from heaven.  “If Trees Could Talk” will be uploaded to the website very soon.

U-turns and Switchbacks

Some 12 years ago our family visited Monument Valley.  It was amazing; it was inspiring; and it was vast.  You hardly knew you were in a “valley” .  Until the road we were traveling seemed to disappear into the rock canyon wall.  There we found ourselves traveling a narrow road with hairpin turns that took us to the top.  Once we reached the top the scene was vast and the vista wide open before us.  It too was amazing, inspiring, and vast.

So, today quite by accident pages I had written during that trip fell out of a book I opened.  The pages contained a letter I had written to myself as my artist’s mentor.  Here is what I’d written, “Stop trying to reach the top of the mountain in a single jump.  The road to the “top” is like the road in the canyon, it twists and turns.  It feels like a U-turn but it is always going forward and upward, often at great pressure to the mechanics of the vehicle.  Ever feel like you are going to crack from the pressure?  That is growth.  The U-turns aren’t U-turns at all, they are hairpin curves continuing up.  You may feel like you are looking at the same landscape, but it is from a different perspective, therefore changing it.  Trust you will reach the top.  And remember what you found at the top of the canyon wall:  the landscape reached out, not down, but out.  More vistas to explore, more visions to be realized.  Smoother driving perhaps for a while, until another canyon wall needed to be climbed.  Trust yourself.  Trust God’s guidance.  Don’t fret.  It only looks as if the road ends, because you can’t see beyond the turn.”

There’s great peace and hope in the message that says when you think your life is doing a U-turn, perhaps it is actually a switchback taking you higher up the mountain.  Guess I needed that!

Ya Never Know

This morning I received an email from someone I had not heard from in over 15 years.  She shared how she wanted to tell me how significant a conversation was that we had oh so long ago.  It was tremendously encouraging to think that a dinner conversation could help someone along the way in their journey to the point that some 15 odd years later that person would reach out to share.

And it got me thinking.  How precious are our conversations with others?   How powerful might they be in either helping or harming a heart?  How beneficial could it be to always think before speaking?  The prayer of St. Francis says “Lord make me an instrument of your peace.”  The Psalmist says, “May the words of my mouth be acceptable in Your sight”.

What does this have to do with the art biz?  Perhaps nothing.  Or perhaps next time you and I are at an art show we will think before making a comment.  Perhaps there’s a reason the old adage “If you can’t say anything positive, don’t say anything at all”  is in fact old.   Think about it.

Load in Day

There is always great anticipation and a bit of anxiety when it comes to load in day for any show.  Today it is Artfusion at The Factory at Franklin:  my “home” show in my “home away from home”.  So as part organizer and part artist, my anxiety is doubled.  Will the crowds come (organizer)?  Have I selected the right work to show (artist)?  If the people come, will they open their wallets (both!)?  And of course will they open their wallets to buy my work (artist)? Can we ever get away from those nagging questions in our minds?  Probably not.  I however lean on something that a good friend of mine continues to speak.  Each piece I paint has an owner:  it is a matter of time to see who that owner is.  That means I can trust that they will find me when the time is right wherever I am.  So, I do the best I can, put one foot in front of the other, hang each painting with love and care, trusting a power greater than me to bring the owner and the painting together.

If you’re in Franklin this weekend, come on by.  It’s going to be a great show.

This painting will be there with me.  “Cool Morning” measures 12×9  $125