1.1 min readBy Published On: May 24th, 2012Categories: Arts and Entertainment, Lifestyle1 Comment on Art = happiness

Add a little bit of happiness to your life this weekend

Looking at art can lift your spirit and inspire, so why not take an art tour? On Sunday, June 3rd from noon to 6pm dozens of artists and crafts people of South Boston open their studios to the public.  It’s a great way to explore and maybe even add to your art collection!  For a full list of participants go to http://www.southbostonopenstudios.org/.  This event is free and open to the public.  Remember it’s so important to support our local artists!
 

Brigid Watson is just one of the many artists you can meet at open studios.   Her studio is at the Distillery (516 East Second Street – #608).  Below is one of her painting entitled Swedish Horses. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top image is also by Brigid Watson, Gaeta

For more information about Brigid’s work visit www.brigidwatson.net.  Stop by and say hello!

Wondering how to start your own art collection.  Read this by our in-house art expert Kathleen Bitetti: https://caughtinsouthie.com/got-art

and this: https://caughtinsouthie.com/got-art-basic-tips-first-time-art-collectors-part-two?

One Comment

  1. Kathleen Bitetti June 3, 2012 at 4:03 pm

     

     

     

    Got Art?  Basic tips for first time art collectors Part One

    © 2011 Kathleen Bitetti/ www.kathleenbitetti.com

     

    Kathleen Bitetti is a praciting visual artist, a curator/art adminstrator and a public policy and advocacy expert based in South Boston.

     

     

    It can be intimidating for those who are not familiar with the “art world” and/or have moderate or little means to collect original art work.  People always ask me- how do I know if a work of art is good?  That is an easy one to tackle.  It is good art work if you really love the piece and want to live with it.  For those who are trying to figure out if a piece of art work is a good investment- stop thinking that way.   Most collectors who are considered big collectors all started buying small works and works that they loved. They also developed relationships with the artists they collected from.  Often times they started the relationship when the artist first started out.  And for those collectors you read about in the paper with the multimillion dollar collections- they have multimillion dollars to spend- hence they have that type of collection.

     

    If you buy art work you can afford and that you love, you will eventually have a nice collection of work to live with.  When going into a gallery and you see that the price list is out of your price range, don’t panic.  Remember commercial galleries are retail spaces and need to sell work.  Many have “back rooms” that have works that might be in your price range by the artist on view and by others artists they represent. Many commercial galleries have payment plans.  The majority of the commercial galleries do carry work that is less than $500. Prices also reflect if a work is framed (framing is expensive to do). So don’t be shy. Ask the person behind the desk if they have any work in your price range.

     

    I recommend first buying small works on paper (unframed) or small works in general. One per year is a good goal to set. Most of us have small living spaces and you can get the most out of small works.  They can go in any room and can be grouped together. This will allow you the most flexibly in where to place the works.  The small size will make it easier to switch works into different rooms over time. I collect small works on paper and I can’t afford to frame them all. Nor do I have the room to hang them all at the same time. As a result of this,  I am buying works that are similar sizes and getting inexpensive frames and switching work in and out of the frames.  I am also in the process of buying a small leather portfolio book (with plastic sleeves) to keep my small works on paper in.  So instead of an art book for people to leaf through on my coffee table, I’ll have this portfolio with my collection.  I may also buy a special stand to keep the book on and might even figure out a way to have it opened to a different work from time to time.

     

    I highly recommend keeping files on the artists you buy work from.  Get their contact info, resume, artist statement. Keep track of work you bought by writing down when you bought it, the price, title, year made, and what it is made of. Ask the artist to put you on their mailing list in order to let you know about their upcoming shows.

     

    Remember when you buy a piece of contemporary art work (and many other works of art for that matter), you buy the piece of work but you do not buy or own the copyright to the work. Copyright remains with the artists or with the estate of the artist. This means you can’t make postcards of the work you bought or any other product legally (or morally). The artist or their estate can only do that. If you wish to use an image of the work in that manner, you must get written permisison from the copyright holder and you will probably have to pay do so.

     

    © 2011 Kathleen Bitetti/ www.kathleenbitetti.com

     

    Kathleen Bitetti is a praciting visual artist, a curator/art adminstrator and a public policy and advocacy expert based in South Boston.

     

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