Art Collecting Series: Get To Know The Artist

In the last post on this series I talked about how to go see art, love art and buy art. In this post, I want to talk about knowing the artists behind the work you see and like.

 

I’m a believer in living the life of a perpetual student. The more you know, the more curious you become and the more curious you are, the less boring life will be for you – because there’s always something new and exciting to discover.

 

So get curious about the artists whose works inspire you. You will be surprised at how much information you can learn about an artist. There are so many sources of information available about artists.

 

Artists themselves make a lot of this information public. A great starting point will be with an artist statement of artist bio. These two pieces of information are almost always readily available from an artist’s website or they are printed alongside their work in magazines or newspapers.

 

Also if the artist maintains a web presence (blog, Facebook, Pinterest etc) that’s usually another source of information about your artist.  You can also learn about them from press releases, advertisements for shows and exhibition catalogs.

 

If they are represented by a gallery, the gallery owner and staff would be delighted to brag on the artist they represent. They’ll gladly answer your questions. All you’ve got to do is pick up the phone or walk into the gallery and ask.

 

Why Getting to Know The Artist Serves Your Best Interest

I know what you’re thinking, ” Why would I ever want to learn about an artist if all I’m trying to to do is start an art collection?” Just stay with me for a minute and I’m going to show you why.

 

Art collecting is both an intellectual and emotional endeavor.   You want to like what you are collecting. Also, you want to be able to connect with the pieces of artwork you’ll be owning. You want to own 🙂 them, be proud of them. Soon you become the go-to person on that particular artist because you’ve followed their career for a while.

 

I can’t think of a better way to connect with your art collection than getting to know the artists who created them.  Most collectors can tell you stories about the artists they collect and that’s what makes them passionate about and proud of their collections.

 

Here are some stuff you’ll eventually learn about the artists you collect if you get to know them.

5 Things You’ll Learn About the Artists You Collect

1. Unique Style: You get to know what it is that they do differently from other artists
2. Passion : You learn how passionate they are about the works the create. What makes them want to create more work.
3. Philosophy: Their general outlook on life becomes obvious to you. You learn what they believe in and why they do what they do.
4. Subject: You get to know how they come to choose the subject of their work. If they’re working on a landscape for instance, why did they choose to paint the Rocky Mountains and not Mount Everest?
5. Craftsmanship: Quality matters, right? You’ll get to know the quality of their work -w hat type of materials and supplies they use.

 

When you get to know the artist, it ensures that you connect with them on some personal level.  You might relate to their philosophy or their choice of subject matter or some other thing.  The benefit to you is that your artwork doesn’t become just another piece of art but it is artwork which holds personal meaning to you – meaning that is different from what other collectors feel about that work.

Now tell me, what do you think? Is it a good idea to get to know the artist behind the works you like? Share your thoughts and comments. As always, I love to hear from you.

 

Warmest Regards,