This blog has been sorta stagnant lately. Sorry, it’s really because we are actually working on a complete overhaul and redesign, combined with life, the blog has taken a back seat. And when you are trying to develop a small business whether as a hobby, or a full time, you CANNOT allow it become stagnant. So we will be trying to keep up on this a bit more.
First thing is a series I will be writing about Collectors and Artists and how each can work together to ensure the value of the art that is collected, and how the relationship between the two is vital in the survival of the artist and their subsequent works of art. It will also be simul-posted over on Natasha Wescoats website. So for the first one….This topic came up as I was talking to Natasha about Collectors and Artists and how us the collector can effect the Artist and how we depend on each other for the success of the Artist and the value of the Art they produce and we (the collector) invest in.
Collectors,
Collectors and Artists are a symbiotic relationship. Artists need collectors to purchase their art, and collectors need artists to keep working and producing. However, the relationship is much deeper then that. Many collectors expect the artist to do all the work themselves, in keeping the value of their work high and continually appreciating in value. However, that just isn’t true. The artist needs the collector to do their job in helping them do that.
Collectors are the people that drive the price of the art. Much like buying and selling stocks. If a particular artist is “hot” the value of his work goes up. When the artist is not, expectantly the value declines. This is where the collector comes in. There is only so much an artist can do to ensure the value of his work. Its up to the collector to keep the artist working, his job is to continually by word of mouth advertise the artist. Display your pieces in high visibility area’s and where visitors will be able to see the art and comment. When asked about your proud pieces, talk about them and the artist. If you know the artist personally or have a relationship with them in some manner, discuss it, and show more of their work if you have multiple pieces or direct them to the artists website. Whenever traveling, stop at local Galleries and ask specifically for the artist, this helps generate more interest in the artist. Keep updated on new pieces the artist is working on. If you know somebody that is redecorating, ask about the colors and décor, and if you can suggest particular pieces by that artist or artists that may fit well in their new room. As a collector you should be interested in everything your favorite artist or artists do. Keeping them working is possibly the single most important thing you can do to ensure the value of your investment. A stagnant collector is doomed to always own worthless artwork they paid too much for.
While we ultimately purchase art for its beauty and placement in our homes we cannot ignore the investment. Art is an investment in every sense of the word. We all hope to make good decisions in our investment and hope that the pieces will appreciate in value, doing a few simple things like this will help ensure that happens.
This is “Alone in the Myst”. I love this one because I can feel the emotion coming from this. For those of you that know Mary will understand when I say this. I feel the frustration that she has from certain circumstances and for me it makes her work that much more beautiful.
This is a print that will be available very shortly. We are working on getting all of Mary’s work turned into high quality image’s so we can make some high quality prints on canvas. It’s taking a bit longer then expected, but doing something “well” never is easy or quick. But I thought I would pop this one up to see what reactions are to it. So please comment and tell us what you think.
And like I said all of her work will be available as prints very shortly. If you are interested in the original email either Mary or I.
As promised we are working on this space. Slowly but diligently you will notice a few links over there to the right. First section is Art links. They are links of other Artists that Mary keeps up on and people we have bought pieces from. Those are just a few. There are others that we need to verify and see if they have a web page of their own. So watch that section, as it will inevitably grow with time.
The artists over there are…Vena from New Orleans. We are very happy to see him growing and expanding, as we were unsure of what happened to him after Katrina hit. For our honeymoon we went to New Orleans; as we were walking around Market Square we saw his work. We were not able to meet Vena himself, but his wife was his selling his work. He captured New Orleans exactly the way we saw it. So we picked three paintings and brought them home. Shortly after Katrina we scoured the net to find him, as we wanted to get more of his work but could never find him. However while we were in New Orleans this past summer; we stopped at another artist’s booth, bought a couple of prints and an original. This artist was very similar in style so we asked if he had remembered Vena. And to our surprise he had, and told us that he had a Gallery near by. Unfortunately we did not have the time to make the walk up there. But next time we will. Now that we have a website for him you can bet we will be buying more work from him.
The next artist is Natasha Wescoat. She is a contemporary modern-pop inspired artist. So far we have not seen anything of hers that we did not like. Mary was introduced to her work through a co-worker. Mary instantly liked what she saw. We acquired our first Wescoat for Christmas and have since have bought many prints and three other originals. Check her out. In her work you can see similarities to Gustav Klimt’s “Tree of life”. Shown here. Which is another favorite of Mary’s. Natasha does all of her own marketing, shipping, and selling of her work, yet has time to upkeep her Website and care for two young boys. She is a very hard working and wonderful artist. Make sure you check her out and order a couple of prints. You wont regret it.
Finally there is Kristen Stein, another contemporary artist. We have yet to acquire any of her paintings. However Mary does keep up with her latest works and news. One of her favorite series of paintings is the “Enchanted Garden” series of paintings.
So while you are waiting for Mary to get more of her work displayed here. Take some time and go visit those other artists. We will have a lot more work displayed shortly.
This is Mary Kate Johnson’s art blog. We will be featuring her work, and updating you with various accomplishments and shows that Mary attends. Please visit often, and feel free to comment. All of Mary’s work is for sale as originals or if you prefer prints. Feel free to contact us. She also has a few images on Imagekind, so you can order directly from there, or if you prefer email us and we will get your order right out to you.
