How do you Purchase Art?

Abide Studio

Several years ago I was at a dinner in a home in the “old money” section of Nashville.  The home was beautiful and the walls were adorned with “named” artists of the area.  I asked the homeowner about one of the paintings,  hoping to engage in conversation.  The response was on the order of “I don’t know, my decorator picked it out.”   Really?  Sadly there are buyers, even collectors out there that only purchase what someone else has told them to buy, or “who” someone else has told them to invest in.  I call this buying with ears rather than eyes.

Within the week a friend told me that my art was all warm tones with too much red and orange and wouldn’t fit in her home.  Now I know this woman’s decor and I knew that there were several pieces in my inventory at that time that would suit her style and palette beautifully.  She was however stuck in the mindset that art needed to perfectly match what she narrowly defined as her “style”.  We in the art world call this matching the sofa.  Buying by sight, yes, but…

Shortly after these two occasions a customer came into the studio, took the time to study several pieces, engaged  in a conversation with me about the stories behind the work that spoke to her heart.  She selected the one that she “had to have”, purchased it, and went home delighted with her new acquisition.  She represents those customers who appreciate art for its story, for its emotional value, for the workmanship and personal touch of the artist.  These are people who engage with the art as well as the artist. This woman bought through the eyes of her heart.  Bingo!

All bring cash to the table.

All help pay the bills.

All are buyers and even collectors.

But art should engage the buyer and subsequently the owner as they view it on their wall.  It is created to be enjoyed not ignored.  Those who are touched by what I have labored to create open themselves up to the transcendent power and mystery within the painting.  It is my heart on that canvas.  Deep calls to deep; the song of my heart is heard and received when my work is purchased by one who engages with it.

That’s my heart’s desire. 

That’s my art’s desire.

Want to know more about my art?  Click here to sign up for my email newsletter.

Click here to shop my original art.

If you like this post, please share it with your friends.

How God Uses Paintings “God’s Love on my Wall”

I am honored to host this guest post from friend and author Teasi Cannon. Not only do I treasure her insight, I am humbled by how God used my work to speak to His awesome daughter.

What looks like three paintings on my living room wall to others is actually a tangible

representation of God’s goodness and love to me. From the moment I saw Deborah’s painting, “Wild Flowers,” I knew it needed to be in my home. In combination with “Precious Poppies” and “Water Garden,” this arrangement blesses me each and every day in ways that are hard to describe. The first time I saw them together, I actually cried, and it was hard to look at them for long for fear that I would be a blubbering mess. I think it’s because as I looked at all the beautiful colors – colors that seemed to bounce off the canvas as they reflected the sunlight coming into the room – I felt God’s immense pleasure. I felt His goodness in a way that my soul needed more than I knew. I could almost hear Him laugh with delight at my joy.

There are many colors in the paintings, but the ones that stood out to me at first were happy…light…pinks and blues and greens…colors of goodness. As one who thinks too deeply about nearly everything, these paintings are a daily reminder to me that there is beauty all around, and that God desires for me to enjoy Him along the way…to stop and smell the flowers (or admire them on my wall ).

The paintings have been on my wall for a few weeks now, but still…when I stop to look at them and really take them in, I cry. Even sitting here thinking about them I tear up. I don’t totally understand yet why I respond this way, but I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m undone by the sweetness of my Heavenly Father and His gentle, kind, beautiful love for me – and the knowing that He sees me as His sweet and worthy girl.

Teasi Cannon’s blog is a fresh look at the condition of our hearts, thoughts, and how we live life.  Her authentic take on life as a real person in love with a real God is refreshing and uplifting.  Her book “My Big Bottom Blessing” has changed lives across the country.  From the back cover: “Loving the girl in the mirror isn’t about changing how you LOOK but allowing God to change how you SEE.”  Teasi is a sought-after speaker who loves to help women remember who they are in Christ.  Visit her website at www.teasicannon.com