How to collect art
Welcome to the fascinating world of collecting art - a beginners guide
There are tons of different styles of art like abstract and cubism to futurism. My suggestion would be to stay open. Follow me to check out my next post on my top 10 favourite styles. For now, hop online and go onto ebay or google your city's best artists. Ebay is a wonderful way to start appreciating art. There are tons of artists and types of art. Start saving your favourite pieces to a collection and follow the sellers. Once you've built a collection at random, it's time to get a little more critical.
There are 4 things to look for in a piece of art
#1. Composition
How do the different elements of a piece go together? Are they balanced or weird but somehow work? An artists ability to balance the work and create interest is one of the most complex and difficult things for them to do. A painting can be colorful and detailed but lack something. That feeling of lacking is composition. One time, not at band camp, I saw a work of a woman sitting on the floor carelessly holding a bottle of wine. It wasn't terribly well drawn in terms of the detail and there was no background. Just her, the bottle, and a cigarette. What caught me was her leg. It was stretched out and clearly too long for her body but the angle the artist drew her with the length and angle of that leg captivated me. Was it a mistake? Was she a terrible artist and this piece worked? Why did the girl have so much attitude? Was it her leg? So I bought it and still don't have answers.
#2. Skill and technique
No matter what style of art you like, any good piece requires skill. Each style requires a different set of skills and techniques which i'll cover in another post. For now, the best thing to do is compare different pieces in the same style together. You'll start to spot the good from the bad. Focus on the commonalities. If you're doing the ebay thing, you can compare one artist's pieces together. You'll start to notice the traits of the artist, their unique style within the style. The best artists push the boundaries of the style in which they paint. Picasso was a perfect example. He would get into one style, break down the conventions and then change styles. He could draw attitude into a penguin with a single brush stroke. The again, some of his art was hideous but it helped him learn and create his masterpieces. My goal is to buy the best pieces from up and coming artists. Rembrandt for example, painted in a very specific style but was brilliant at developing his technique, especially in his use of lighting. He could paint someone's face as if it were shadowed, illuminated only by candlelight. I'll dive into technique a little later.
#3. Uniqueness
Compare one artist's work to another. Does one stand out? Is it appealing to you and marketable to others? While buying art is a personal experience, it's nice to know you could sell your art to someone else later. Compare the work to others in the same style, and to the artist. You'll soon start to spot unique pieces at a glance. The message a piece delivers is also important. Some artists don't have a lot of skill but their message speaks to people. It evokes an emotion despite the lack of skill. Those pieces can be the most interesting because it's difficult for even a talented artist to copy it, to imbue it with the same feeling.
#4. Collect original pieces only
Despite what you might hear, Giclee's, prints, lithographs, etc, are not worth very much. Especially with the advent of the internet. You're paying for the signature only. The coolest thing about original art is it doesn't have to be expensive. The internet and even local artist galleries have original works for any price point. Don't be afraid to resell art either. If you bought it from a gallery, you can always sell it back to them and trade up. They have connections and will find a buyer, take a commission and give you the profits. If you've agreed to invest those profits into a more expensive piece, the gallery may give you a small discount to! Once you get into the higher price point with well known artists, the price fluctuation and value starts to level out - it's not as volatile.
Pro tip: art is usually priced by size not quality.
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