A friend of mine due to hard times has sold some of his properties and one is a painting that belongs to his family years ago. He was astonished to know the “market value” of the said painting when he had it for appraisal. He doesn’t realize what he had been admiring at their living room as child turns out as to what it can be considered a masterpiece! Art can be lucrative if you had the eye and if you can research a little. BUYING ART FOR THE NEWBIES It is not simply for art for art’s sake. You must really know what you want and if you are planning to display it at your house, condo or building. As art is very broad in terms of styles and kind. Asked yourselves if you want a landscape, an abstract, a still life, a pen and ink etc. . . How much is your budget? How much are you willing to pay? Most paintings now a days are competitively priced but usually. . . if you are buying from a relatively unknown artist it can prove to be affordable and the same time it can also be gamble ( hoping the art or the artist in the future can turn out to be another Jackson Pollack, Picasso or Juan Luna). Well known artist or established artist works are usually high priced but it can prove to be worth your money in the long run. The market value of the art you bought is usually tied up with just how well respected or career driven the artist was. The tendency is his or her price would surely go up if there is a demand for it especially if that artist becomes a national artist—you hit the goldmine! When buying art works, it pays to asked around either an art curator, professional art dealer, an art gallery owner or used to your advantage harness the power of the net. But really nothing beats when it is recommended by close friends or relatives. BUYING ART FOR BEGINNERS 1) You must know the difference between buying oil, watercolor, pastel or acrylic. It is important to know what art materials are involved with the creation of that art work you are buying. Materials used by the artist should be high quality so the colors would be preserve or retain for a long, long time. 2) Decide if you are going to buy directly from the artist itself, to an art dealer or go straight to the art gallery. Consider the framing, delivery and other services involved when negotiating with the price or what is included to your payment. When buying through an art gallery, you usually get to know the profile of the artist and essentially getting a proof or certificate that what your buying is real not fake (as in original) and also verify if it has several reproductions already such as the print version. If you are buying directly from the artist, you have the option to ask for an authentication paper complete with the artist’s signature. 3) Regardless if what you bought is from a relatively unknown artist or considered a masterpiece, you should also know how to preserve or maintain it. As time goes by it will be moisture and humidity to be the art pieces main enemy! Colors can fade. A retouch might be needed. Furthermore, don’t expose the painting to the sunlight as the harmful ultra violent rays can affect the colors of the paintings. 4) Your art should reflect your aesthetic taste. Choose art that can help you relax like a landscape or underwater. An art that can make you think like abstracts, an art that reflects your dreams and fantasies like surreal paintings. It brings out your personality and something that brings a certain kind of fulfillment—one that you can be truly proud of hanging at your walls. 5) You must remember value or price of your art work will not go up over night. Hence, treat it like a mutual fund or a time deposit. 6) Always buy from reliable sources. The traditional way is still the best there is. FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN RE-SELLING YOUR ART 1) Finding a prospective buyer is not easy. Unless, you have a cultured/art loving network. You can off course go through the expert hands of an professional art dealer or art gallery owner but they also get a great deal of share of your selling price. 2) Keep all the receipts, relevant documents like a copy of artist resume or any proofs of ownership. Especially if is a high end piece of art work. Later on with enough experience you can build a collection that you can benefit from it in the long run. Always remember. . . time is your friend; don’t assume you can profit from your art work right away. The good news is. . . art doesn’t really decline instead its price usually goes up! In the meantime, enjoy that priceless beauty of the art work you had purchased. http://noliespanola. digitalwebdesignstudio. com/