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02/11/2005: "Tips for collecting art online"

One of the best gifts that anyone could buy is an original work of art from a living artist. It enriches your life in ways you never expect. My paintings are like old friends. They're always there. They're great, they're expressive, they nourish me and they challenge me. Whenever I visit someone's home, the first thing I notice is whether or not they have original artwork displayed. Sadly, in most cases, they do not. It's a shame. One artist once told me that people are more than willing to spend a couple of hundred bucks on an IPOD or TIVO, but they won't spend that amount on an original painting! There are so many artists out there who are struggling for their art. We need to support them. Yet, let's face it, many of us get intimidated when it comes to art. How do you put a price on a painting anyway? Can you negotiate a price if you're dealing with an artist directly? How can you even ask without insulting the artist or making yourself look like an idiot?




Bob H. Miller,
bhm09
Offered Gallery Print
Photography is hot and so is this piece!


Well, wonder no more. Now, I'm no expert, but I have been buying art online long enough to pass on a few tips. Here we go!

1. BUY ONLY WHAT YOU LOVE. Would you buy a television or sofa or coat that you didn't like? So, duh! Don't buy a painting that you don't like! Of course, you might be thinking that the artist whose work you're buying may one day become famous like Picasso. If so, great! But the truth is, even the most knowlegeable museum curators and art gallery owners don't know who'll become famous. No one has a crystal ball. Besides, famous doesn't mean good. Buy what you love and even if the artist doesn't become famous, you STILL own something you love! Happiness is a good investment. (See tip 5)

2. SUPPORT LIVING ARTISTS. I think that it's best to buy works online from artists who are alive and working. There are so many of them! Thousands and thousands worldwide. They deserve to make a good living creating their art. It's what they were born to do. I have forged online relationships with artists. The relationships with the artists are just as great as owning the artwork. Trust me on this one!


Scott Klinger
The Red Widow
2002
Cibachrome Photograph
Photography again taking chances. Danger element.




3. PURCHASE ART THROUGH ESTABLISHED, TRUSTWORTHY WEBSITES. Look for the "gold lock symbol" at the bottom on the righthand side of your computer screen when purchasing, or "HTTPS" in the address line of the website when buying. That lets you know it's secure.

4. DON'T BE AFRAID TO NEGOTIATE. This is a tricky one, but here's the deal. We negotiate for so many things in this world. Why not artwork? Artists live in the real world like the rest of us. They WANT to sell their work. But, keep in mind that they work hard like the rest of us. They're not going to give their work away. Nor should they! All they can do is say no! If so, respect that and move on. There are plenty of fish in the sea! I think the best approach is to just send the artist an email saying that you love his/her work and ask if they sell anything in the $100 range, for example. Some artists even let you PAY IN INSTALLMENTS. Try it! I've done this. I have yet to be disappointed. However, keep in mind that we're talking about artists who represent themselves. Gallery-represented artists are a whole other ball of wax.

5. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. A painting isn't neccessarily good because it's posted on some website or hangs in a gallery. Anyway, what's good art to you may be bad art to someone else and vice-versa. Trust your instincts! Most importantly, if other people judge your purchases, do not be forced into defending your choices. If you like them, that's all that matters. Politely show your critics the door! (Smile)


Dulce Rivas
The Shadow of Your Smile.
Collage
It's raw and rough, yet poetic. I think Hispanic art and photography are pushing things forward right now.



6. DON'T JUST BUY PRETTY PICTURES. Who doesn't love beautiful art? Still-lifes, landscapes, portraits of attractive people are all nice, but art is about more than just, "pretty pictures." BE BOLD! CONQUER DOUBT! Buy art that challenges and stretches you. Buy art that makes you think and feel. When considering art, don't just think in terms of what you like or dislike, think about whether the piece "moves you." This will help you make more soulful choices. I have some paintings that aren't conventionally beautiful, but I was moved to buy them. They spoke to me somehow. I believe I'm a better collector for taking this approach.

6A. PRINTS & POSTERS. This is a tough one. There are so many framing shops out there that sell these. We should try to support them. However, keep in mind that oftentimes, for the price of buying a print or poster, and then, getting it framed, you can also buy an original drawing or painting from a struggling artist in your own community! The choice is yours.

7. READ AND RESEARCH. Read art magazines, visit museums and galleries. This will help you determine what "moves you." It'll refine your eye. I still have a long way to go, but I find that this helps.

8. TALK TO ARTISTS. I always like to ask artists what inspires them to create. Knowing what inspires an artist and relating to that inspiration can often help you when it comes to purchasing a piece online. I have found that talking with artists is never a waste of time.

9. DON'T SPEND MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD. I cannot stress this enough. If buying artwork means that you're neglecting that badly needed brake job on your car, I certainly hope that you'll put off buying that painting and get your brakes fixed!

10. TRY AGAIN. If you miss out on a painting for whatever reason, just try again. If you fell in love with one painting and someone else got it, trust me, you'll find another one that you can afford that you love just as much, if not more!

Again, I'm still learning myself, but I hope some of this helps. Good Luck!

MICHAEL CORBIN IS A WRITER AND AVID ART COLLECTOR

Replies: 10 Comments

on Saturday, February 19th, H said

I understand what you're saying Lanora. Although the internet is an equalizing force, it still is far from equal just as you say.

Juried exhibitions, grants, commissions, and now the internet, are all judged by the quality of the photograph of the work and not the work itself. A bad artist with lots of money for a professional photographer has an unfair advantage.

on Saturday, February 19th, Lanora Bonasio said

In my freshman year of highschool I went on a field trip to the Cincinnati
art,museum and there came face to face with a painting by Van Gogh. I am
sorry, I knew I wasn´t supposed to, but I just had to touch it out of
fascination. It looked to me like it had been painted using a knife, there
must have been half a tube of paint in each stroke. I have this thing about
colorful strokes that don´t do much one at a time, but when you put them all
together, they gain a life and movement of their own. So to this day, I love
to look at Vincent´s stuff and bask in the knowledge that my work has this
quality in common with his, but let me tell you, I cannot yet afford to
spread my paint that thick. I went into watercolors because those babies go
a long way, just add water, and into acrylics because they can imitate
watercolor or you can lay ´em on thick, which is still something I long to
be able to afford to do... so much that I have spent years experimenting
with creating texture and baas relief in my paintings with other substances,
so that I could paint over in acrylics and get my own Van Gogh thing going
on. But there is a big difference between Vincent and me, well, I am a woman
for one, but that isn´t important. Oh yeah, and he is famous and I am not,
there is that also, and he is dead and I am NOT, but that isn´t the point
either! I hear Van Gogh was a sad person, but I am an artist who lives in
perpetual joy. My life has required courage and exacted suffering from me
also, and I have put that into the paintings I make, but the beauty lies in
taking whatever life serves up and transorming it into something that
pleases Me. And since Me is a human, what makes me feel good can often
coincide with what makes many others of my species feel good. I hope so
anyway, as it would be nice to make some sales online, but I confess to be
getting weary of having to spend so much time outside the studio sitting at
the computer, researching the internet, looking for my ideal viewers. My
camera is not that good, my paintings are many of them large and intensely
detailed, and this is all lost in the JPGs. Still, I am thankful for the new
age technology and its equalizing power.

on Monday, February 14th, Dan said

Brad

Might not one muddle the other?

on Monday, February 14th, Brad Michael Moore said

Dan,
Why Can I Not Have It Both Ways? I believe I'm Capable... I Guess It's Just A Matter Of Feel.

on Sunday, February 13th, Dan said

Brad...

There is such comfort in realism and photography. The image is clear. There is no discordant opinions of what is within the frame. It's all laid out. It's safe and waiting for that one person who "loves" it enough to purchase it.

I got such a kick out of seeing the movie The Aviator recently. When Howard Hughes was at the dinner table with the Hepburns, the comment was made that realism in art was no longer needed for now the camera has taken it's place. I pondered this comment and reflected just how full circle culture has gone.

Stating that it will probably be the art you hate that will rise in value does not equate with that work being "ugly", "sharp edged", or "jagged". More of what it equals is that the work is ahead of it's time. One hates it for they don't understand it. Much hatred of cubism arose during it's conception.

Mentioning the reason for Van Goghs lack of sales as that there did not exist a middle class buying public, is problematic. The elite buy art. This elite is not neccesarily defined in monetary figures but in the degree of culture one possesses. The businessman who thinks artists are fools and would not buy from a fool, is obviously not very cultured. Thusly, there was, and has always been, a small number of buying public, and as the population grows, so too the number of elite. Which goes back to the point that Van Gogh's work did not suit the "loves" of the people at that time.

Furthermore is the question of catering to the "loves" of the current day, or pushing the envelope and striving for greatness with hopes of advancing humanity. It's your choice!

on Sunday, February 13th, Brad Michael Moore said

Walter - don't they all bum that smoke from you from time to time - it might just be ok (they think) under the circumstances. Still, “What fool would become an artist? With that in mind why would I buy the art of a fool??” This guy is not only a fool - he's a sad person looking for answers in currency and the bottom line - he's one of the guys, on his deathbed, really will wish, "If I could only just work another day at the office..."

on Sunday, February 13th, Brad Michael Moore said

Dan,
Nice opposing view to Michael's article. I still feel your view, "...it's probably going to be the work you hate that will buy your grandkids that huge mansion," is somewhat flawed. As anyone who’s folk’s parents have signed Norman Rockwall works will attest – they are worth a pretty penny for such young works (art historically speaking), and not ugly paintings at all. In the days of Van Gogh, there was no such thing as a middle class of art collectors. Nor were isolated artists, such as Vincent, able to see their works find wider audiences as newer aged artists have come to behold. To suggest collecting art as an investment - that one must not collect what they like, but something that has a raw or jagged edge about it may be a somewhat short-sighted view, or maybe missing the point as to why people today should collect art. Isn’t anyone who takes on a landscape, for instance, working with a subject that could be considered very redundant. People will still buy them anyway as investments, for love of the subject, or to support a friend or because the work spoke to them - even if they didn’t know the artist. I have other artists of other mediums (other than my own) in my collection, as well as artists working in my own mediums. I collect most of them because their works speak to me personally – then I seek the artist out and try to better understand what their experience is that helped their work strike the responsive chord within me. I’ve been selling photo prints for some 30 odd years now and people who buy my work do so for their own reasons – the biggest one being that the image speaks to them – not because it might appear to someone else as hideous or beautiful, but because it moved them out of their own personal life experience. This is the most worthy reason to buy art. I have a specific piece, a landscape, that was purchased by a buyer who normally specially specializes in contemporary arts paintings beginning about Pollock’s time. This collector has literally millions of dollars tied into his collection - yet he spent a grand for my image, coupled with a special frame of my own design, that gave him a unique work we were both very proud of. This great collector, who loans pieces of his collection to museums all over the world, decided to own one of my photographs (a C-Print no less) that most gallery owners (at the time) would frown upon for its investment quality. He liked the image and wanted to enjoy it in his lifetime. That’s well enough for me. If you want to buy for investment and keep an emotional distance from your works – I guess that works too. Still, I don’t bet on the future, I live for today. If I buy your artwork – it’s because it will help me live through today – if you buy my artwork, it will be the same as well…

on Saturday, February 12th, Dan Pheasant said

Grandkids or heirs........Just remember, it will probably be the artwork you hate that will buy your heirs that huge mansion!

So much bad non-investment quality work is purchased under the premise of "you have to love it". How many people loved Van Gogh's work when he was alive? Not too many. Only one painting was sold during his life. Now look...2,,3 ..10 million a painting?

Many walk in galleries shove this love ethic on their customers to sell the crap on their walls. It's a sales tactic. Education is the prerequisite to buying art. Study some art history. Know what's current, what's redundant, and what's new.

In ten years when you no longer "love" that painting, what are you going to do with it? Will it be worth anything? Buy smart! Don't just buy for love, we all know how fickle love is...buy smart....buy for investment!

One good way of understanding an artist's potential investment value is too know the artist. How much do they work at their art. How dedicated are they. How much do they produce? Have you seen anything like it before? Go to their studio. And yes, don't be afraid to haggle the price. The willingness of the artist to cut prices will probably show just how dependent they are on their art. This dependence shows dedication. Dedication exposes degree of investment value.

on Saturday, February 12th, Dan Pheasant said

1. This sounds like a paid endorsement for this website.

2. What happens to all the art work that no one "loves"? This is the same crap as matching the color of your sofa! So if your own taste actually stinks, you are left with a monetarily worthless collection.

3. There is NOTHING wrong with buying on speculation that the artist may gain investment value.

4. How many artist websites have "Gold seal trustworthy status"? Give me a break!

5. Talk to artists....THEN buy online? Why not talk to the artist you are actually buying from?

6. Just remember...it's probably going to be the work you hate that will buy your grandkids that huge mansion.

on Friday, February 11th, Walter King said

Thanks for talking about this from your perspective Michael. I've watched folks drop A couple hundred bucks on dinner and drinks of an evening or tickets to a football or hockey game, several thousand on a large screen TV or sofa that will only last a few years who cringe at the idea of spending any amount on original art which will outlast any of the above commodities. I once had a conversation with the CEO of a major insurance company at a fundraiser who asked me "What fool would become an artist? With that in mind why would I buy the art of a fool? There's no money in it or real prestige. I can buy and sell you anytime I want. The only reason I'm involved in supporting the arts is for PR purposes."

This was said over several $12 single malt scotches and a $10 Domincan cigar (actually the cigar wasn't all that expensive--an Habano would have been twice that). No telling what dinner cost him. To be honest I was never quite sure why he was even talking to me at all given his point of view. But later on in the evening he actually bummed a smoke from me.