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Considering buying a picture by a
Contemporary artist and you want a far less expensive work than a
Picasso, or an Andy Warholl, but let us admit you also want it to be a
good investment. You really are hoping that your chosen artist might
well be discovered big time and suddenly be worth many more times what
you paid and preferably sooner than later! So what should you be looking
for?
In times when currencies are at risk and
the stock market fails to do well, the chances of success (by
choosing the right artist) are
far better than those with the Lottery!
By being careful about what you buy and
in choosing the right artist, although there is always an element of
risk, the chances of losing any value are minimal.
Whilst I am not making any claims to be
any kind of expert, I have been a keen successful collector for many
years of various art forms and antiques that have mostly increased
greatly in value. I do hope that by sharing with you my instincts that
these will prove to be of some help to you. Obviously, just in case the
picture you end up choosing, doesn't jump up tremendously in value, it
is most important that you really like your choice, so that at least you
will enjoy living with it.
Your choice of picture says something
about you, so what sort of picture should you look for? Here are a
couple of my suggestions of how to begin the selection process: -
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Firstly look for something artistic
that you find attractive and beautiful, preferably a picture you
feel sure your friends will admire and comment on.
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It is best to choose an inspiring
picture, that makes a statement, or that has something fascinating
about it.
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Then do some research on the artist.
Be very wary of all the hype, art critics
and so-called experts who claim to know everything. These days you can
search on the Internet and no longer be restricted to the local
Galleries, you can search and find art from all over the world without
leaving home. This means you can view the pictures you like and avoid
all the sales talk. But how should you consider your choice of artist,
if you want to have the best chance of your artist becoming suddenly
famous and priceless? To have any such chance of succeeding your artist:
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Needs to have developed a recognisable
different style, or show exceptional original creativity.
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Should have already created a
reasonable number of works that demonstrate a consistent style and
originality.
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Should already have received some
recognition, from having held several important one-man exhibitions
and received already some worthwhile press, or write-ups.
In the past the artists that eventually
become the most sought after, are those that created their own style,
where they were the first to do something original, or different, and
they made use of it consistently to best advantage. Some sadly, would
also add choose someone old, rather than young, as so often artworks
tend to be far more appreciated soon after the artist has died.
Of the painters, at the moment I am
favouring Sir Bernard Fleetwood Walker R.A. because he has a style of
his own that has not yet been fully appreciated. My personal view is Sir
William Russell Flint R.A. painted wonderful watercolours and although
they are already highly valued, I still think they will continue to
increase in value.
I am not aware of any really great
changes in painting that are sure of success. There are some who make
use of spray paints and I have seen a few unusual textures where cement
and sand have been used mixed with the paints. There are pictures
created in three dimensions by layering cut out prints, stuck closely on
top of each other, there are small boxed frames filled with carefully
chosen objects as pictures, there are paintings embellished with
Swarovski crystals, or small mirrors and other materials, also there
have been mixed media pictures making use of all sorts of materials to
form an image. But although different, I do not see many of these as
ever being considered as great art works, it is really a matter of
hunting for only the most exceptional examples, if any of these
techniques appeal to you.
PHOTOGRAPHY
But the most dramatic and
exciting changes have been with photography! Photography is now a valued
art form, as are limited edition prints
(providing
the edition number is not too large - should be well under 50).
So
what is new?
Thanks to digital imaging there are now
computer-generated pictures, such as 'fractals'. But as the computer
made them, rather than the artist, I doubt that they will ever be highly
valued. With computer manipulation, mixed blended images that were never
possible before, can now be created, these artists should be studied.
I have seen some graffiti light painting
pictures that are rather different. The new computer HDR(high
dynamic range) images
that provide a much greater range of definition at different light
intensity levels are also impressive and can be very atmospheric (far
more so than ever before).
But what matters most is the end result;
it is the picture that counts, the artistic vision is so much more
important than the technique.
Having said that, certain photographic pictures could only be achieved because of the technique.
As an example, there is a unique technique that involves photographing projected images that have been projected on to other objects.
This has successfully been used to create some very interesting and quite different pictures.
I believe that if you follow my
guidelines, you will find pictures worth buying that really could prove
to be a great investment.
Good Luck with your hunt, hoping you
enjoy the search and that you do find a winner.
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