That Art: Should you buy it?

Should you buy affordable art that you like?
There is a 2-part answer to this social quandary. There is also no doubt that many people have already addressed this topic, but here is my quandary resolution.

Q1.) Are you buying said artwork as an investment?
A1.) If so, you should contact an art broker and be spending in the 6- to 7-digit range. Some cases, low as the 5-digit range.

Q2.) Are you buying said artwork for enjoyment?
A2.) If so, this changes everything. In short, yes. And though these thoughts being written by me as the artist, might seem a bit biased, contemplate with an open mind.


First off, art is conversation. Whether it be visual, aural or otherwise. And conversation is the conveyance of an idea from one source to another. Preferably, art that is personally appealing is what should be bought over other criteria.

Regarding western civilization, it's not so uncommon for a North American home to own a large format television, gaming system and even perhaps a surround sound system to go with the internet-ready tv. Now, contemplate the cost of those items which bring us joy and entertainment. TV: $700~3,000; Gaming system (games, controllers, etc. incl.): $700; Surround sound system: $300+. That puts a total of said package at about $2000 on the low-end by the time you include taxes, warranties, etc.

And yet, unlike the days of Picasso's, Jackson Pollack's or even Andy Warhol's popularity when only the rich and famous could enjoy such artwork in their homes, we now live in an age where the "common person", as it were, can enjoy tokens of the wealthy life-style. However, our culture today is still reluctant to spend that kind of money for a known or unknown artist. I am astounded at how we live based on social variables and not rather what suits us as individuals. In a matter of 5 years, all of that aforementioned entertainment system begins to degrade from use and at worse, loses it's appeal as new toys will have hit the market. At best, that stuff lasts 7 years, but with technology advancing so fast, it's pouring money down the drain ( in one regards; however, i will admit that if it brought enjoyment during that short time, then in fact, it did pay for itself.)  Now, contemplate an equal valued artwork. It (likely) doesn't wear out. Everyone (and not just the kids) can enjoy it, unlike the grandparents not being able to play today's fast-paced video games with their grandkids. What if it has the same market value in 5 or 7 years? You've lost nothing, but rather beauty, elegance and enjoyment were made possible for a mere $24/mo (for 7yrs) or about five lattes from Starbuck's per month. bsmapatheos.org has an article ( Starbucks, a Grande Non-fat Tale of Consumer Spending ) which I quote:

"The average parent spends about five dollars per day on their [kid's] non-fat mocha extra whip caramel Frappuccino, totaling to about 1,500 dollars annually. Keep this up for five years and you have slurped away about 7,000 dollars, not including all of the money your gas tank has chugged." 

The Math: $1,500/yr = $125/mo. That's $10,500 in 7yrs. On coffee. For your kid. Staggering.

Details:
TV Sys: $2,000 @ 7yrs or 84mo = $24/mo
Starbucks: $1,500 @ 1yr x 7yrs or 84 = $125/mo
Artwork: $7,000 @ 7yrs or 84mo = $84/mo

Value after 7yrs:
TV Sys: $0
Starbucks: $0
Artwork: minimum $7,000

If my math is correct, that's about $45~50/mo less than Starbucks for the cost of a $7,000 piece of artwork. 

So, in conclusion, I'm not trying to get you to buy my artwork per se, but think of affordable art (<$7,000usd) compared to your current cost of entertainment and maybe, just maybe, you'll see that in the long-run, it's really not that expensive.  One customer of mine liked several works of art that I had done, but couldn't afford them at that moment, so she saved her money and then purchased the several pieces she wanted. How much do you like the artwork? Whether it's several hundreds of dollars or a few thousand, it's all affordable.

Buy art that you like.  :)

What is important

what material item(s) do you consider important to you that you find as an extension of yourself in your daily life? of those items, which could you not live without, so to speak?

now, consider how devastated would you might be if those things were taken away without your approval? what do you have leftover? what remains? if your answer is family and friends, then you are blessed and wealthy. ( i address this further in an article i wrote titled, the campfire effect. )

in the absence of relationships, all of these gadgets are merely metallic and sterile gimmicks creating a mirage of warmth to our soul and without realizing it, especially and particularly, if we are co-dependant on these items to experience happiness in life, then these things are killing us [humanity]. i'm not entirely against these life-comfort things of convenience, but there is a word called, balance. i perceive that most of western culture thinks they have balance in this area of their life.



yesterday was a big day for me. i had to say farewell to my mentor and close friend, teddy, as he and his wife were moving to the philippines. sometimes, a person doesn't realize the affect people have directly on their daily life until the day they have to part, especially when on good terms.

teddy has been working on the particulars for nearly 30 years to make this dream of his come true and today, as he flew out of san francisco, his dream became reality. i really am happy for him, even if there is a void he left behind in my world. yesterday, when i stopped by his house one last time to see him, only as i left, did the gravity of the situation began to set in. as i pulled out of his driveway, i begin to further grasp the profound effect he had on my life in who i've become as an artist and my approach to the arts, not to mention possibly other aspects of my life as well.

coming soon to a monitor near you, i will talking more about my background with teddy in my art/life journey in art/life. so, subscribe to my blog with your email address and stay informed when that article hits the press.

in short, one day, at a community luncheon, this man introduced himself when he found out i was interested in art. later, i learned that he had taught master-level classes on art theory and the approach to the arts at u.c. berkeley. the art conversation between us that day was kind of ironic, because i had no idea what the hell he was talking about as i thought that art was just about colors and shapes. that was 2005 and i've had the rare opportunity to have a private tutorship and mentorship for eight solid years by a very gifted art mentor from one of the most prestigious schools in the country for art. if this had never happened, but was written as a movie script, it would be considered one of cheesiest and unrealistic scripts ever due to the improbability of the turn of events. well, folks, it was real.

today, i am a mixed media artist.

Departure day minus one.
( L: teddy's son, cliff; C: teddy; R: me )
Summer 2013