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.  :)