Buying art

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wendiwoo My Leila Simes paintings are abstract

Sadly I can't afford to buy art. I've been lucky enough to been gifted some paintings that a relative has done. She's a wonderful painter, mainly of animals.
I'm of the opinion that no art is bad, it is all subjective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that....

this is one of mine - I have been painting for quite a few years and sell my work though my facebook page - it has been fascinating to read why people buy the art that they do!

I have two abstract paintings that I'm very fond of. I like to have something interesting to gaze at when I'm writing and having a think. They hang above my desk. As does an oil of a French scene, a print of an elephant and a picture of a hedgehog. My study houses quite an eclectic collection!

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I like a bit of abstract art. I have picked up a few pieces while abroad. I have also bought some works by a local artist and ceramicist Diane McCormack. She creates beautiful pictures, mirrors and clocks.

My sister-in-law, who in her 80s, likes abstract works so it's not an 'age' thing Wendiwoo.

I am finding this forum really interesting in that so many of you write that your treasured artworks are of landscapes, seascapes or flowers, and nobody mentioning abstract art.
I am an amateur artist, though have sold quite a lot of my landscapes, seascapes and floral still-lifes. I am now starting to do abstract work which I am finding far more challenging than any representational work...and if this forum is anything to go by, won’t sell nearly as well.

I too buy what I would like to see every day. I buy prints as originals are not within my budget. My DS2 has an interest in art and is currently working on a piece. He hoped to give it to me for Christmas but wasn't quite ready.

They all have sea and boats in them

I’ve acquired several acrylics and pastels by Philip Gray

I'd never heard of him until I was given the ones I have.

There are so many wannabe Jolomos around at present. It sometimes feels like every small gallery is full of bright orange and turquoise Scottish landscapes! The artist himself seems to be a very nice man but he's fairly churning out the pictures. Why not though? People like them.

I love Jolomo pictures of the Scottish Isles. Only seen them on notelets in Scotland though. I didn't know where the name Jolomo came from.

I wonder what a psychologist would make of our choices.
Ours are eclectic

Does that mean that I can't make up my mind?

We have some prints and some originals , mostly of various scenes, but I am rather taken with a couple of inexpensive small prints which I inherited by Jolomo (John Lowrie Mackintosh) and would like to buy some more. His use of colour is quite fascinating.

I don't have any originals but I have 2 prints by Yorkshire watercolour artist Ashley Jackson (there is a personal connection). I love his work & if I ever have enough money I would love an original.

I only buy art which I like & can afford not as an investment

I was very lucky to be taught art history at my grammar school. I don't think I would have appreciated art without this grounding. I buy art at local exhibitions. This does not mean I spend a lot of money since these exhibitions often display the work of young local artists. I recently bought a seascape that now hangs in my bedroom. I also do like rugs and tapestries. I hang the rugs on the wall as well. I find that they warm the room more than a painting does. Being Scandinavian I also love Nordic art. I'll be going to the Royal Academy's showing of the Finnish artist Helene Schjerfbeck in the summer of 2019. Helene Schjerfbeck is little known outside Scandinavia but she is one of my favourites. My husband was not really interested in art but he was a very kind man and he liked what I liked!

Lovely thread. Looking round my walls all the originals are by family or friends - none by very famous artists but a couple have been hung in the R A in the dim and distant. We’ve been given some lovely street scenes of my home city and also have many quite small prints of places we’ve had happy holidays. JoLoMo prints in the bathroom!

seacliff
Oooh, I like the 'Chicken With No Name'! Not usually a fan of mosaics, but she/he's lovely!

I don't have any original art, but Gabriella I like your picture by Beverley Brown, I have always loved impressionist style paintings.

Forgive my ignorance, but did you buy the original or a copy, if you don't mind telling me. I just was surprised that the prints are available at quite reasonable prices. I'd always thought they would be out of my league price wise.

I have enjoyed looking at all your art. I have just been admiring mosaics by this lady, very different but I love her work. www.katygalbraith.co.uk/pictures-and-mirrors

I am very blessed to have artistically talented friends. My little granny flat contains an original water colour of poppies, a print of an original by my closest and best friend which she has then overpainted, giving it an almost 3-D appearance, an acrylic by the same friend plus a pencil sketch of my little granddaughter done from a photograph, and another acrylic by a lovely Liverpudlian friend. I treasure them all, and feel surrounded by love every time I look at them, knowing that they were done especially for me.

Many years ago, an art teacher friend told me that if you fall in love with an original piece of art, whether it's a painting, etching, sculpture etc, and you can afford it, buy it. So I do!
I collect the wildlife paintings of Carl Whitfield, the cat paintings of David C Lyons and the marine paintings of Richard Firth (although fewer of those, due to cost, and the small number he creates).
I have one original by Michael John Hunt, bought from a Penman antiques and fine arts fair before he 'made it big'. I probably couldn't afford any of his originals now!
However, my absolute favourite painting is one my DS bought me when he went on a school trip to Spain. It's abstract, but (to me) looks like a horseman tilting at a windmill (Don Quixote)! I love everything about it!
We have a few pieces of sculpture too, I like modern bronzes, in particular the birds of Ian Greensitt.
We don't buy because of worth, or as investments, we buy what we fall for!
The insurance premiums are a bit of a nightmare, but the joy we get from seeing these things more than makes up for it. Anyway, there are no pockets in shrouds

I have a lot of paintings as I have always been interested in art. I bought one or two from the Catawicki auction site. Also the Dutch painter Piet Mees sells his paintings for about £60 but you have to pay the postage from Holland. I have a lovely winter sunset scene by him which gives me endless pleasure. Don't forget to look in at your local auctioneers as they often have very good pictures. Happy New Year!

I can afford prints and buy the ones I love. I have one pencil sketch original which was a gift from a talented artistic friend and will cherish it.

I saw a painting several years ago and couldn't get it out of my mind. I went back to the gallery of course it had been sold. About 3 years later I emailed the artist and he had in fact painted 5 of these and yes he knew where the last unsold one could be found so I eventually got my painting and never tire of looking at it. As my gran would say what's for you won't go by you.