We all see things differently… and some of us are more talented than others… so I thought a general chat, going hither and thither… might be interesting and fun…
What is your idea of ART ??
Do you create ART ??
Is ART important to you ??
How to Buy and how to Market ART ??
Feel free to share ideas and info… and some examples of ART (your own or others) …would be nice too…
I’ll start of by saying what I do NOT really like… Abstract paintings…
and yet, I bought one at a recent exhibition… simply because I could see something in it… clear as day (to me)… my Dad, standing at the bottom of the garden, in the dark, lighting the rockets on Guy Fawkes night… a glorious memory from early childhood… the darkness and the brilliant flashes of colour.
The Artist himself… he chuckled when I explained why I was buying it… he has been trying to sell me his stuff for some years… seems he was NOT thinking of my Dad or anything remotely like my memory…when he painted the picture… 
I like people in my pictures, my husband likes landscapes. Would love to own a Fabien Perez.
Hi All,
I’m a long term lurker on the forum and not even the brexit discussions managed to get me going, but this has. You may end up wishing it hadn’t.
I spent 4 years at art college in the late 70s and came out with a degree in sculpture. After the usual jobs with a building company and some community art work I blagged a job in theatre and that has been my profession along with museums, theme parks TV, Film and making sculptures for famous sculptors. I have made or worked on many very public sculptures and I can tell you that the art business is just that, a business. That’s not to say that I don’t like all modern art, even after having met some truly awful, egotistical artists, but I can’t pretend it hasn’t coloured my judgement somewhat.
I have managed to downsize and retire early to France where one room in our house is now my workshop/studio and I can finally make my own stuff rather than other peoples’.
My own tastes are much like everyone else’s in that I like what I like irrespective of genres. Having said that I am drawn to the French impressionists, the Glasgow Boys, some of the pre raphaelites, The post WW1 German/Austrian artists like Schiele, Klimt and Otto Dix.
I wrote a comic novel based on my adventures in the art business. I’d like to claim literary genius, but the best parts are the true stories of what actually happened. I can laugh at it now, but sometimes it got a bit depressing.
I’ll be interested to hear everyone’s thoughts on art since I think about it more now that I have space in my head for my own ideas.
…before I write anything else…I need to say! Anyone thinking about art business, survival via art sales, take care! If you are self sufficient in other ways…which works pretty well for me…by taking a razor blade to every single expense and cutting down to as close to zero as you can go…then that could be a whole lot less painful, and I enjoy that, immensely, …as a kind of bargain hunting in reverse…
Youll need to be creative in your life, as much as any art you create … There’s an essential truth to remember…ie…being put down, attacked, insulted… the usual fruits of all extremely competitive , bare survival based business…may well be all part of the experience you work so hard to seek… Artists agents may take the flack on any front line, but competition in such an arena could prove to be too painful. I prefer to work alone as much as I can. No, I never give up! I think I’ve got a hide like a crocodile now! No delicate flower here.
Hello Dermot (aka The Lurker) and welcome to the Forum.
First thing though… could you please amend your Registration to show your First and Last name (ie Full Name as it says )… if not sure how to do that… put your Full Name here and I will do it for you…
cheers
Indeed, to use an expression from the guitar building world, if you want to make a small fortune out of art, start with a large fortune.
Hi Stella,
That crossed with me replying to Jeanette. My full name is Dermot Doyle (no ‘n’ in Dermot). Please amend it for me.
Thanks
…was just firing up into my bash-everybody mode…and you made me laugh… 
Sorry Dermot… end of long day… shattered after chasing an errant sheep which was determined to play chicken in the main road of our village…
Name-change done and dusted… 
I know several artists and they seem to use a wide range of medium… card, aluminium board, canvas… etc etc pencil/crayon/ pastels/oils/water colours and so many others…
In my school days… it was a jar of water, paints (what sort, who knows) and large sheets of white paper…
of course, I soon discovered that this was not my metier, but I do enjoy watching the talent of others blossom…
some of the prices achieved make my eyes water and others seem too cheap for the love and effort which has gone into the finished product…
Sadly, Jeanette… so many folk are not self-sufficient and cannot become so. They have to find a way to make money to pay the bills… such is life… in the main.
Someone who has a skill, is naturally going to enjoy using that skill and if it can bring in some income… so much the better.
Some advice from experienced artists might well be useful… in how to market a product. If you have never needed money… this might be a difficult subject for you to discuss… but it’s worth a go…
eg… someone I know, gets an income from the sale of Prints of the Original Artworks… sales go all over the world… the income might not be awesome, but it is very welcome.
Have you tried that route…??
I had to chuckle when I looked at the site… reminded me of 3 years recently, learning Argentine Tango… fabulous memories…
Sorry StelIa!! I wrote only a part of it! Ref income. I have sold my art work…around the world, for decades, taking some part in a commercial “market”…which is different enough to be considered in separate compartments of my brain! …I think my own kind of self sufficient may be accessible to many more people than may realize it…it’s not at all clever or well funded by any means, I have a hope of sharing or discussing “survival” that gives opportunities to develop whatever interests people have, far outside any consumerist concerns… ditching consumerism gives freedom better than a giant income in my experience…of course that takes a different approach and the most important things still have to be paid for, still cost a lot…There is so much pressure for people to conform, and anything resembling “poverty” may still be viewed as antisocial behaviour. 
Some of the folk I am thinking of did not/do not have the means to enjoy consumerism… most have family to support…
@james is an artist.
He’s a photographer first and foremost but has an incredible vision and talent for design. Everything he produces whether it’s in timber, concrete or steel is art.
#Aproudwife
(And I haven’t even had a gin as I have to go and get the middle one in a bit so this is genuine admiration!)
A friend of mine in Deal was a keen watercolourist and sold his paintings of local scenes through their print shop. He soon realised that he made more by getting good colour photocopies and framing them simply and cheaply. He would sell 10 or more of the same painting. No more than a small addition to their income, but welcome all the same.
From their experience they mainly sold prints and paintings of local scenes and themes. Not much else. The lesson seems to be if you want to sell concentrate on local scenes and sell them locally. A lot of people like something they can recognise.
I’ve always wondered if instead of advertising to do paintings of people’s houses, one could simply set up and start painting a street scene on the off chance that the owner of the house might see the work in progress and offer to buy it. At the very least the painter gets to practice their craft and gets noticed.
I don’t want to try to demonstrate any aspects of my own life that might seem to be competing,! my son is 56 now, and has a family of his own, and my parents are both dead…I have no dependents at present except the cat and the multitude of those obliged to deal with the world’s misery…who rely on us all to get everything working in good order.
I feel strongly that consumerism, (and for me, that includes art as home decor although of course not necessarily so, for everyone!) Is not the best way to go… All entirely my own feelings …I do not expect anyone to share them!
There’s a Lovejoy episode about a con-man who does just that. 
I buy a lot of greetings cards from a local artist who paints using watercolours then has them printed as high quality cards. They are lovely.
So do I, David… I keep one of each as a souvenir… and send the others for whatever occasion… profits for the cards sold… go to a charity…which makes it even better all round…