Sunday, February 24, 2013

Invest in Art

Rather than make this post about any particular bit of art making I've been up to, I thought it was time to discuss buying art.

7 years ago, I fell in love with a painting on Pablo Taboada's website and then actually met the artist several months later. I asked him if he still had the painting and he pulled it out of storage for me to look at. It was as gorgeous as it looked on his website, so I immediately asked him if he'd do a payment plan. I'd only recently read that some artists and galleries will do that, so I took a chance and he agreed!
Then, he did something special...he discounted the painting $500 because he said that I hadn't asked the price. A high muckeymuck's wife had also liked that painting but tried to talk him down in price, which is an insult to the artist. My approach definitely won me favors and the most delicious painting ever!

It took a year of payments, but it was totally worth it because I look at it every day and am inspired in my own art making and life.

What I hope you'll get from this story is: if you love a work of art, find a way to buy it. Many artists are amenable to payment plans. Many also take credit cards or PayPal, so you can make your payments to the cc company.

Asking for discounts doesn't always work in your favor, as we saw with the high muckeymuck's wife, but if the artist offers it...go for it!

You won't regret buying a work of art that speaks to you.

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