Every once in awhile this is something I hear. Usually this complaint (or call for help) is based on color or dimension, sometimes on style but mostly it is a vague and wandering complaint. I try to pin the client down as to what she likes or doesn;t like about particular pieces in front of her. And it seems the more the client thinks about it the more unclear and unfocused the collector becomes.
Don't let this happen to you! Accept the artwork as it comes to you and appreciate it in it's form. Allow the artist to be the artist, she has made very particular design desions. Every aspect of the painting has been carefully thought through. This is the beauty of collecting art--allowing the artist to speak through the painting. Listening to a painting is critical to properly experiencing a painting.
Buying an original painting is very unlike buying a car or a suit or anything else, really. It is NOT custom! You, as the collector, must leave that mentallity outside the gallery. You cannot customize, preorder, refine, or anything else to the artwork. An artist is NOT a decorator, creating an enviornment for you. The artist has a vision and a voice and if you share that vision and voice, then you and the painting can peacefully live together.
So be open, be receptive to what you see. Think mostly (I would say ONLY except that I do understand that collectors have real limitations) about the composition and color and texture. Be positive. Expect the unexpected. Expect to enjoy and fall in love with artwork. Surprise yourself with who you are.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Where do I put a painting? Or, I want a painting, but I don't really have anyplace for it to go!
Do you have a sofa? A bed? A dining room? Then yes, you have a place for a painting and yes, you need one!
Anyone with any sort of living room with a sofa has a wall that needs to be personalized. If you have a room that you live in, relax in, entertain yourself or others in, you have space and a wall that needs a painting. And a sofa is always a great place to start. If you have something there now, think about what it is. I suggest anything under glass should go. A sofa is a solid structure, and it needs a stretched and framed painting above it. It needs something with weight and presence. Something that will engage in conversation with your life within the room and yet at the same time bring you to another place. (This is why artits are visionaries. More on this later.) Think about yourself, and what paintings speak to you, don't overthink the sofa thing--and please ignore the decorator. You arent' matching colors and styles, you are looking for something that is a reflection of you. Who cares about matching when you are considering an original painting?
The same goes for the bedroom. Do you have a bed? I am sure you do! You need a painting to place over the headboard. Again, nothing speaks elegance and class like an original oil painting. Your bed is probably the most functional piece of furniture you own, you spend more time in your bed than any other piece of furniture in the house, so please consider your artwork here. Get rid of that sport print under glaring glass. Or that print that the decorator suggested. Get yourself into an art gallery and look at real paintings and put something of magnitude there. Don't you want to get the best rest possible? Then hang a beautiful painting over your headboard and wake up under it each morning.
Anyone with any sort of living room with a sofa has a wall that needs to be personalized. If you have a room that you live in, relax in, entertain yourself or others in, you have space and a wall that needs a painting. And a sofa is always a great place to start. If you have something there now, think about what it is. I suggest anything under glass should go. A sofa is a solid structure, and it needs a stretched and framed painting above it. It needs something with weight and presence. Something that will engage in conversation with your life within the room and yet at the same time bring you to another place. (This is why artits are visionaries. More on this later.) Think about yourself, and what paintings speak to you, don't overthink the sofa thing--and please ignore the decorator. You arent' matching colors and styles, you are looking for something that is a reflection of you. Who cares about matching when you are considering an original painting?
The same goes for the bedroom. Do you have a bed? I am sure you do! You need a painting to place over the headboard. Again, nothing speaks elegance and class like an original oil painting. Your bed is probably the most functional piece of furniture you own, you spend more time in your bed than any other piece of furniture in the house, so please consider your artwork here. Get rid of that sport print under glaring glass. Or that print that the decorator suggested. Get yourself into an art gallery and look at real paintings and put something of magnitude there. Don't you want to get the best rest possible? Then hang a beautiful painting over your headboard and wake up under it each morning.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Looking for Line
Line is the subconscious design element that attracts the novice viewer. Line is the boundaries of objects, it reveals the form so it is the design element that is most easily accessible. Everyone recognizes objects, and lines are the most common description of those recognisable object. So my advice to you is to watch the line for the obvious, of course, but to also notice the nuance that it gives to the artwork.
So here is the most enjoyable nuance, the painting's response. One thing that I have noticed when paintings are placed in a home is how they respond to the environment. And how the line of the work will emphasise or sometimes even mimic the architecture. This is what makes the home so gorgeous and this is when when the artwork start to live their lives. They come alive by responding to the home. They were conceived in the artist's creative mind, executed in the studio, exhibited in a gallery, and then finally placed in their home. It is at this moment the painting is in full bloom. The line will show the rhythm of the line of the room, the line of the room will work its way into the line of the painting. It is beautiful when you start to see this conversation between the two. And that is the place where real painting begins and a place that decorating can never go.
Another nuance to remember is the rhythm of the artwork. Again line is very descriptive here. If this word makes think of movement, you would be correct. The line is very powerful in carrying the eye through the painting. So again, when you are viewing a painting, pay very careful attention to where you look first, second, and so forth. Many times the artist's use of line is the pathway. She wants to gently guide your eye to certain moments in the painting so take your time to follow these signposts. I will say it again, painting is about communicating. The artist is showing you the work, the brushstrokes, the story, and so on. And this use of line is her way of acting as tourguide. Look here for a moment, then stop here and consider this, and now take a peek over here, and so one. Stand back and allow your eye to travel across the canvas enjoying the scenery.
So here is the most enjoyable nuance, the painting's response. One thing that I have noticed when paintings are placed in a home is how they respond to the environment. And how the line of the work will emphasise or sometimes even mimic the architecture. This is what makes the home so gorgeous and this is when when the artwork start to live their lives. They come alive by responding to the home. They were conceived in the artist's creative mind, executed in the studio, exhibited in a gallery, and then finally placed in their home. It is at this moment the painting is in full bloom. The line will show the rhythm of the line of the room, the line of the room will work its way into the line of the painting. It is beautiful when you start to see this conversation between the two. And that is the place where real painting begins and a place that decorating can never go.
Another nuance to remember is the rhythm of the artwork. Again line is very descriptive here. If this word makes think of movement, you would be correct. The line is very powerful in carrying the eye through the painting. So again, when you are viewing a painting, pay very careful attention to where you look first, second, and so forth. Many times the artist's use of line is the pathway. She wants to gently guide your eye to certain moments in the painting so take your time to follow these signposts. I will say it again, painting is about communicating. The artist is showing you the work, the brushstrokes, the story, and so on. And this use of line is her way of acting as tourguide. Look here for a moment, then stop here and consider this, and now take a peek over here, and so one. Stand back and allow your eye to travel across the canvas enjoying the scenery.
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