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Post by marcusslo on Aug 17, 2008 13:00:54 GMT -8
To me, art is not unlike many of my other hobbies... where in the beginning, the initial excitement makes me want to buy everything out there that I think looks good. But having collected for a while, I look around at my collection and think insead of having many good small pieces, I'd rather have a couple of large/great pieces. I guess it's all a phase... but how do all of you collect? What factors do you consider when making your decision to purchase a piece.
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Post by masao626 on Aug 17, 2008 13:27:48 GMT -8
i'm actually just the opposite - i started off adding large pieces to my collection and over time gained an appreciation for smaller pieces (it's okay if it's tiny, as long as it's beautiful this is my only hobby, i work insane hours and usually only have time to eat, sleep, go for a run and love art. i continue to buy what i love and my collection continues to make sense to me. the only pieces i have ever sold are those that don't make sense any more - i look at them and go...um. why? that really hasn't happened too often.
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Post by oldfartatplay on Aug 17, 2008 13:36:01 GMT -8
I seem to have done the opposite as well. The first paintings I purchased were large (30" or more) as time passed I tended to collect smaller pieces (smallest is a Liz Mcgrath watercolor 2.5"x3"). I think it is because I don't have the wall space for larger pieces anymore and also because smaller ones are more affordable (so I can get more of them).
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Post by highbrow on Aug 17, 2008 14:19:58 GMT -8
Great topic,
I started collecting via a personal friend LEBO the first piece I got from him which was done at a concert I was producing was 4ft by 8ft. From him he showed me other artists, but I never really collected. About 4 years ago I started to see art I liked places but never knew how to really get ahold of it, I had things fro chain stores hanging all over my home. When I moved to Atlanta about 4 years ago I brought only 1 piece of art with me the large LEBO piece. Then when I moved into my condo About 2 years ago I really started taking it series. in the 2 years I have made some purchase that I may have wanted to rethink possible I purchase something that I may not have been fully in love with just to have something from that artist. but in my 2 - 3 years of series collecting I have some great things, Luke, Fontana, Sorren, Craola, Biskup, Theikle(SP), and now I wait and instead of making 6 or 7 purchases I find one thing i really love and go for it. This board also has been a big problem with my collecting but I thank you guys for that. Sadly I only own 2 current prints ( not counting waiting fro Fairey prints ) both are AJ Fosik one hand carved wood and one on paper.
great topic
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Post by lowpro on Aug 17, 2008 18:16:25 GMT -8
Hmm...Interesting topic...
Quite simply, I buy what I like. But I do always employ the age old philosophy, "quality of quantity". It is rare for my collection to be made up of more than 3 different paintings by a single artist. And if higher quality means a larger piece, then that's what I tend to aim for. But the two certainly are not mutually exclusive. A piece doesn't need to be large to be strong and some large pieces fail due to their size. Neither is better or worse. Some artist apply just as much effort to small paintings, as they do large ones. And some artists prefer working at a smaller scale, for example Travis Louie or Naoto Hattori who has stated he likes the challenge of painting small. So, for an artist as such, I'd be perfectly happy adding a small piece to my collection.
However, some artists seem to not exert as much effort into smaller pieces (obviously debatable), and in a given body of work/show - more often than not - the larger pieces are the strongest ones (entirely my own opinion). In these cases, I'd rather go a little further in debt and fork over some extra coin in order to procure a larger, stronger painting. The thing I strive most NOT to do as a collector is to merely settle for a piece I'm not in love with aesthetically or emotionally, just to be able to add a particular artist to the collection and cross their name off the "want list". This can be a difficult thing to resist, especially for fast rising stars. It can be tough to not jump on any opportunity you get at work by an in-demand artist, when you know the next time you might get a chance you'll be paying double.
Ultimately, I try my best to work for opportunities in which I'm able to add 'landmark' paintings to the collection, which perfectly encapsulate an artist's style at that particular moment. In looking at my collection, and if I have succeeded at that task (which I think I have), it appears that I tend to buy medium (12"x20") to large (20"x30"+) paintings; the lion share of which are 16"x20" or larger. However, this collection has been a long time in the making. Certainly, as is the case with all of us probably, I could only afford smaller pieces when I first enrolled in the game. It seems over time, I have filtered out those smaller pieces in favor of large ones. There's just something special about a large piece of art on the wall that makes you stop and stare in amazement. I think it's sometimes hard to extract that "WOW factor" from small paintings, even if they're brilliantly executed. And there's something to be said for that awe-inspiring ability when it comes to a large piece of art.
So I guess in short, I do tend to prefer a single medium or large piece to multiple smaller pieces. But again, I don't think that this is for any other reason than, in my opinion, I feel these paintings embody some very strong work by the respective artist. Generally, I think a good size piece usually means that a strong effort was put forth, and in turn a high quality painting will be produced.
Jeez...sorry for length...guess I was bored...
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Post by lowpro on Aug 17, 2008 18:18:23 GMT -8
woops...meant to add something above...
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Post by mokaneshu on Aug 17, 2008 23:32:02 GMT -8
I started collecting and wanted larger pieces because my walls were bare, so how much real-estate that it took up was important to me at first. I've gotten over that phase now that I seem to be at the point where buying new things may mean selling other things or start getting more and more creative on how to display more in less area. I don't say that I have a preference against big or small because I find that mostly depends on what the artists that I like prefer working with. I really do appreciate pieces on wood though. I do want to say that I'll stop buying prints though and try staying more with originals, but sometimes there's prints out there that are simply irresistable and the 10k original is simply not even close to an option
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Post by thecreep on Aug 18, 2008 8:12:15 GMT -8
I don't really think about size, which is odd since my house is very small.
I have pieces that are 3" x 5" and pieces that are 2 feet by 3 feet in size. I really just get what I like, I never talk myself into a piece, or try to justify that I will like it more as the days go buy. The piece really has to hit me for me to want to spend any money. Its especially hard since I spend all my money on college, so art is truly a luxury for me.
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Post by LeBasse Projects on Aug 18, 2008 14:31:16 GMT -8
funny. i was just having this conversation with a collector of ours... my take on it from a collectors point of view (yes, i do my fair share of buying) is to generally try to pick up more significant pieces from artists i expect long careers from. I used to do too much "impulse" buying - buying small pieces from lots of shows, and from unknown or new artists who no one has ever heard of again. They are still some nice pieces (though hard to tell as they are wrapped up in storage), but when i look around my home the only things on my wall are pieces from Kawasaki, Sol, Fontana, Miss Van, Matzu, Fairey, Bozic etc (and of course all my guys Yamamoto, Frizzell, Lo, Ushiro...and i got a big Belcastro on the way) These days my favorite galleries to buy from are the ones that represent artists careers. I can always trust that their artists will continue to show and grow. I have recently bought from Kinsey/DesForges, Karnowski, Roq la Rue...and unless i really love the artist, i typically avoid galleries that are kind of "one and done" with their shows. Again, all a matter of personal taste... ...but for me, when spending significant amounts of money on art, i think it is very important to avoid the hype of pre-show press and really look into what the artist and representative galleries' long term plan is. That being said, you can always buy into my hype
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Post by sketchypad on Aug 19, 2008 20:27:20 GMT -8
Good thread ... fun to read everyone's responses thus far.
My collecting for the past 3 years (I've been collecting since '99) has focused around purchasing works from emerging artists in the Bay Area (Tiffany Bozic, Josh Keyes, and a bunch of Bay Area artists you probably haven't heard of yet). Not only is the work more affordable, it's nice to know that you're supporting artists at the stage in their careers when they need it the most. Other perks of collecting local artists, is being able to do studio visits and bumping into them at gallery openings and seeing what they're up to.
I've found myself really looking closely at CV's ... seeing what their formal art education is and where they've shown. I'm definitely looking for artists who I think will have long careers.
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Post by sleepboy on Aug 27, 2008 17:17:48 GMT -8
Have done alot of impulse buying in my time and recently have tried to tone it down a bit. I would say that I prefer bigger pieces now just because I find it hard to display alot of smaller pieces. I'm pretty anal about the arrangement of paintings and if it doesn't match I can't stand it. So with a alot of small pieces a wall would look too mismatched. So in general I'm looking for medium to large pieces. Of course this makes some artists out of my range but I think I will have to accept that.
Also, it is very important as some people say to not settle just because you like an artist and are desperate for their work. Unless you are doing it strictly for investment, you will regret it later. I also like to buy images that are most "classic" for the artist and not go for too much of the fringe. I want it to be recognizable. If I own multiple pieces, then perhaps I will try for something different from them. I find that once I like an artist I don't want just one piece, I like to have several...
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Post by roqlarue on Aug 27, 2008 18:22:59 GMT -8
I guess I collect mainly for enjoyment. While I keep a thought to investment I generally wont buy a piece no matter who it is if I don't love it. If I DO love it then I will spend whatever I have to. I buy work from my own gallery of course- but I do also buy from other galleries, both known and unknown. Like many of the people on this forum I have an art problem. We have no wall space left in our house but I can't stop buying art, nor would I want to. I also know I'll probably end up spending a lot this last quarter on art. It just can't be helped!
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Post by masao626 on Aug 27, 2008 18:39:19 GMT -8
We have no wall space left in our house but I can't stop buying art, nor would I want to. amen sister.
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fuzen
New Member
Posts: 39
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Post by fuzen on Aug 29, 2008 21:30:07 GMT -8
Just small pieces for us. But I do feel for symmetry that's why if I am framing something I do want all of them to flow well together as small pieces tend to look cluttered bunched together if there's too much variety in frames.
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Post by ally on Aug 29, 2008 21:40:15 GMT -8
we collect very very carefully. quality over quantity. rather than be completists, we select only what we must have.
buy what really hits you in the heart. i have found some amazing artists on etsy, and though they are not famous, they are awesome~
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