My Thoughts on Art Collecting

I have a deep appreciation for original art. And I’ve always wanted original art in my home. Back 16 years ago when we bought our first house, I wanted to put original art on the walls, but couldn’t afford it at the time. So I took art classes and invested in some supplies and dabbled in art so that I could create my own. To be honest, looking back at those days, some of those first pieces that hung on my walls were not so good. But eventually the dabbling turned into a hobby, which turned into a passion, which turned into a career.

The ironic thing is that now that I’m a professional artist, I’m starting to collect other people’s art for my home that is not my own creation. Of the millions of paintings out there, what draws me to that one certain painting? What prompts me to add a certain piece to my collection? I am about to let you into my own art collection and purchasing psyche...enter at your own risk...haha!

I like to own paintings that are connected to our lives in some way. All of the paintings in my home have a story behind them. Some of my paintings remind me of family members and whenever I notice the painting, it reminds me to pray for that person. Some of my paintings remind us of trips that we have taken. Some of them were given to me or swapped with other artists. Some paintings have a cool story about where or when it was painted. But the thing that is in common with all of them is that they bring me joy. They bring happy memories to mind when I see them.

I like to buy paintings that can hold my attention for a long time. It's a good test that if I catch myself spending a lot of time looking into a painting at a gallery or exhibition, I will enjoy living with it at home. I’m a daydreamer and a "noticer" of (un)important details. I like to read the fine print of cereal boxes. And I like to get lost in the art on my walls. I love it when my eye catches a fresh view of an artwork and roams around the canvas, noticing new little relationships that I hadn’t noticed before. I can get mesmerized by paintings and I enjoy it.

I like to buy paintings when I can picture exactly where it will hang on the wall as soon as I get it home. Whether it matches the area in color or size, or theme or just because I like it there. Usually I can picture exactly where I will hang something the second I see it. However, I have an art collector friend who does it very differently. She and her husband like to set the new painting on the fireplace mantel in the center of their home after purchasing it. For her it’s like getting to know a new friend. After a while, once she knows the personality of the painting a little better, she finds a place for her new addition to hang in her home. What is your art collecting routine?

I once had a collector purchase a painting of mine just for the investment value. They told me that they really liked my art and thought it was under-priced and that they would like to own one of my pieces because it would likely be worth a lot more within a few years. For them, it didn’t matter the subject matter or personal connection very much--as long as they kind-of liked it. At the time, I thought it was strange. But just this summer, I caught myself doing a similar thing! My most recent acquisition is a still life of two pears done by a 10 year old boy. The piece itself is quite good and I really love it! It looks great in my dining room alongside a still life that I did myself. But mainly I bought it because if this boy can paint like this at 10, imagine at 20, 30, 40…I really hope he sticks with it! I don’t know if he will. If he finds a different interest for his life, I will just have a pretty picture done by an 10 year old boy, and that's great! But if he sticks with art and becomes famous, I will have bought an early work of Oliver Pettis for a “heckuvadeal!” (Oliver is holding my painting in his right hand in the photo below.)

I like to buy original paintings from artists because I know that it helps them in particular and the art world in general. It pays for the paints and canvas to create more (why are art materials so expensive!?!) And it is very encouraging to an artist. Having someone purchase one of your paintings to hang in their home is one of the highest compliments that you can pay an artist. Purchasing original art is kind of like shopping at a fair trade store--it is like giving a double or even triple gift--you get an awesome painting, AND the artist is supported to keep creating AND because they keep creating the world gets more and better art! What a great cycle to start!

I like to buy original paintings because if I don’t, they will haunt me. One time, when I was at a plein air competition, one of the entries was jumping out at me, saying “BUY ME! TAKE ME HOME!” But because it was priced higher than I was ready to pay at the time, I hesitated to buy the piece. Within half an hour, someone else had purchased it. But would you know, that once in a while, in the quiet moments of my thoughts, I STILL think about that painting! The one that got away...

Well, these are my current thoughts on art collecting. I'm sure it will change and evolve over time. I'm curious to know what your thoughts are about art collecting. What makes you "gotta have it" when you see that one piece that speaks to you?

Note: Don't worry, I obtained Oliver's (and his dad's) permission before using his name and photo in this blog. You can check out his other work at www.dailypaintworks.com.