On Buying Art

   

When I'm travelling, I love to buy art from artists local to the area. The pieces usually aren't large or framed -- they have to fit in my suitcase! -- but they are usually quite whimsical and even somewhat comical. I'm sure my tastes were influenced by attending local art-in-the-park events as a child and the Don Nedobeck prints we had at home when I was growing up. He's a Milwaukee area artist who does lovely, colorful drawings of animals, like the one to the right entitled "Little Frog Stella".

Couple my love of whimsical art with the desire to support local artisans and you can imagine what my walls look like! (OK, honestly, they're still kind of bare since I still haven't hung everything up since moving months ago. But I have some really great art in those boxes!)


Today when I stumbled upon Sarah Bush's blog post about supporting living, breathing artists on her blog Make Great Stuff, I knew I had to share!  Sarah says it so much better than I could, so read on: 


Sarah’s Top Ten Reasons to Buy Art From a Living Breathing Artist

1. Hang art in your home and surround yourself with images that reflect your taste, define who you are, and resonate deeply for a long time. As with a good book or a great piece of music, your relationship with a work of art can develop and change over the course of a lifetime.|
2. Support the Arts: Supporting an artist by buying their artwork is directly, positively affecting the stability of the arts in the United States. A lot more middle class, regular people buy contemporary art in Europe…when you buy a work of art or fine craft, you’re having a serious, positive impact on the health of the arts in your community and the country as a whole.|
3. Become a Collector–make your own mark  by collecting art you care about that speaks to you. Building a collection is a unique creative act in and of itself–one you can enjoy over time and hand down to the next generation.|
4. Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd:
 Most people don’t buy art or only buy posters of famous art instead. Buying artwork from a contemporary artist or craftsperson really sets you apart and shows you have the confidence to know what you like before it’s been sanctioned by museums or some other higher authority.|
5. A work of art is a unique and passionate creation, which not only reflects the soul of the artist, but your soul as well, because you chose it. (This one, and the next two, are paraphrased from Mary Baker’s site, who I thought did a great job of expressing why someone should buy a work of art.)

Click through to read the rest of Sarah's Top Ten here.