Today I had a wonderful conversation with one of my artists, Elizabeth Leary.  I was asking her to

share with me why she paints.  Her answer was so inspiring I wanted to pass it on to you.  She and I are on the same page as far as the power of art, but her reflections were very insightful.

We were musing about why people buy art. “Why bother to spend money on something you just hang on the wall?  A print will do….’

Art will give you back many, many surprising things; it will give you pleasure, it might give you a thought or an idea about life, it might even give you a “little vacation” as you pass by. That is the very reason that when you see a painting that moves you, you must buy it.  Good art will “speak” to you the rest of your life. A painting won’t drive you to the grocery store, but it will lift your spirit.  Art that is painted by a living breathing person will have passion and soul.  So buy what you can afford and maybe sometimes what you can’t.  But always buy an original.

I had a client come into the gallery a few months back.  He just spent a lot of money on a “Giclee” and then realized that I carried the artist’s original work.  He had never seen the originals up close and personal, but looking at them, he realized that it had power, it was dimensional, it was nuanced, unlike the Giclee, which in reality is a canvas transfer, using an ink jet process.

As Elizabeth and I spoke together I thought of why I love this business and why on a rainy day like today my spirits are lifted by the beauty all around me.

Each painting in the gallery was painted by someone with a passion for expression.  Some artists use subject matter to communicate; others use particular genre or symbols. Just think, each painting is the only one of its kind that will ever exist in the world!!!

Several years ago I had a woman come into the gallery “Just looking.”  She stood by a particular painting and was just soaking in its beauty.  I asked her what it was about the painting that she found pleasing.  Her story is one I tell often, because it is part of the answer to why I do what I do.  She said that her house had just burned to the ground and fortunately her husband and 4 children had miraculously escaped.  They were now living in a rented house with rented furniture and she felt that she needed something that was real and substantial, something that would lift their spirits and comfort them.  That’s why she came in that day…to be impacted by beauty and renewed.  And that’s why we do what we do!

So come on in and lift your spirits!!!

 

Anne Irwin's thoughts on collecting:

I bought my first piece of art right out of college.  I was living in Massachusetts at the time and an artist lived down the street from me and worked in a frame shop.  The painting was half print and half original.  It was a watercolor and the pen and ink part had been printed.  I am guessing he must have printed hundreds, because every time I passed the frame shop he was painting the same image, using different colors.  I still have that piece and even though it no longer hangs in the place of honor in my home, it is a wonderful reminder of my humble beginnings!!

The next piece was years later in an art gallery where I stopped on the way to Cannon Beach in Oregon.  When I saw this piece my heart skipped a beat.  I loved this little oil painting.  It never occurred to me that it had to match or go with anything I owned…..i just knew I had to have it.  My only second thought was, “could I afford it”?

I was hooked and my collecting life began.

Should you buy what you love?  Every article I’ve read on collecting art says “yes”.  I agree, with a caveat.  First spend time looking at reputable galleries, or you may end up inadvertently buying a print.   Meet the gallery owner and find out about art from them.  A good gallery owner will be happy to answer any questions you have.