buying art
 

(forgive me if there was another thread on this, art has too few letters to search with)

Just wondering if anyone buys art, what kind, where you buy it and how much you have spent for a piece?

I bought 5 8 x 10's matted photographs, black and white, at a fairly large art show this weekend. The photos themselves are small, about 3 x 3. Two are of Venice, one is of a collection of gondolas and a deck and the other of Venice city canals sans boats. Two are of Paris, one is the lit up Eiffel Tower at night, the other of three chairs left randomly in a park, which I understand is common there. Finally, one of England's Big Ben. I ended up spending just over $100, but still need to find frames. I got to meet the photog who talked about when he took the shots. His larger photos were about $250.

At the show, I saw amazing works - but they were all fairly expensive for me - who is trying to pay off credit card debt. But I looked at the purchase as an investment for when I get my place of my own, again, after this grad school thing.

What makes you buy art?

Here are the Paris shots:

http://www.wpthayer.com/Paris%20Gall...r%20Night.html

http://www.wpthayer.com/Paris%20Gall...aceChairs.html

I have a couple items but nothing really major. I went to the hyde park art fest in chicago and bought a couple little sculptures and small things like that. In NY, I bought this cool pop up piece (it's like a picture of the city except all the pieces are made individually and glued on it) from a store near Times square.

-Rudey
--Mostly things that make me smile, but no Picassos.

I have two Birger Sandzen signed prints-well, one's a lithograph.
An Armani figure and a Portuguese limited signed edition print.
Three signed Rogers (Kansas artist) prints.

I know I will inherit a Dutch Master from my Mother. Hopefully, a statue of "Rebecca" and some vases from Italy crowned "N", but referring to the era not the region. I recently purchased a wood carving that came from a temple in China and it is displayed on a wall shelf. I have two oils that I picked up at a starving artist's fair that will never be worth a thing. (There's just SOMETHING about oil on canvass that screams give me your attention) All of these things, I consider "art".

I must love it. However, when I know something has value, it sure can make it look "purtyer"!:D
There is so much I DON'T know about this subject, that to go out and make a purchase is kind of frightening, especially when you consider the amount of money you can invest.

I guess that's why they say only buy what you love. Now for me to buy a photo, I'd have to be certain there was value and the possibility of appreciation. Otherwise, I'd just try to duplicate the subject matter and display my own. I think you really have to know what you are doing if you are looking at it (or ANY art form) as an investment. I DO NOT! Yet, some photos are surprisingly valuable!

So, thanks Grandma and Grandpa for selecting some great pieces!

The only art I own are 4 paintings by Paul Fata, who calls his art "cheap art." They're very bright and spunky. They're on thin pieces of wood and he will photocopy an interesting picture, old magazine ad, etc. and then paint in colors and paint a fun border around it. I got them at a store up on Cape Cod and there was a bin of them, a lot of them had the same "picture" but no two pieces were a like. So yeah, I have 3 small photocopy paintings and one large painting that's just a regular painting by him.

http://www.redfishbluefish.com/fata/happyfish
this is the regular one :)
http://www.shlippy.com/coffeecup.jpg
oooh, and here's a photo copy one. OK I'm done.

I have no "art" except my own, but I don't have any place to hang it anyway so it doesn't matter. :p If you are looking for interesting pieces but you're on a budget, try buying from art students...someone offered to buy an oil pastel I did once after they saw it in a school art show, but I didn't sell it because I would've only been able to get minimum wage times the number of hours I spent on it, which wouldn't have been enough to entice me to part with it. OK, so you probably won't find world-class caliber stuff, but if you're just looking for pieces to decorate with and whatnot, that might be the way to go until you can upgrade.

BF has a couple of Ertes. They are behind special UV protective glass because the sun can do serious damage to the art and reduce the value. They are probably pretty valuable. I have no idea what he paid for them.

I wish that I had an attic so I could find a Van Gogh. :)

In case anyone is interested, here are the Ertes. Title: LOVE & PASSION (KISS OF FIRE; MARRIAGE DANCE)
http://www.erte.com/suites/img/kissoffire.jpghttp://www.erte.com/suites/img/marriagedance.jpg