Art Musings

Ever wonder why people buy art?  I mean regular people, not folks looking to invest in the next art world star in hopes of selling a work for a massive amount of money at some point in the future.  No, I mean folks like me.  Ok, so I'm an artist myself and already am drawn to things that come directly from the people whose minds imagined a work and whose hands then created it.  But that doesn't mean I itch to own every single piece I like.

Handmade paper art

Buying art is generally a "want" not a "need," although there are times we connect so strongly to someone's creation that it sure feels like we need it!!  

Sculpture and Pottery

Hanging on the walls and sitting on shelves and tables in our home is work of all kinds by artists of all kinds - 2D and 3D pieces in different media.  Some purchased over the years, some the result of artist "trades" at art shows we were in, some the work of friends.  Looking at each piece is a visual reminder of people we met, moments we shared, memories made in time.  

Several paintings remind us of the young adopted son of a painter we met at shows who joyfully traded some of his father's paintings at the end of the show for the work of other artists. Those pieces he got in trade were his carefully chosen Christmas gifts for every member of the family he so treasured. When I look at those paintings I see his excited face and remember his happy choosing. Several small sculptures in our collection are cherished memories for me of the time spent with a visiting Chinese artist. Those pieces reconnect me to conversations, experiences, laughter and learning. Each piece is connected to a time, a place, a person and each adds warmth to our home while evoking memories and emotions for us.

Original paintings in our collection

Original paintings & Collage Art

                                                 

Art touches something in us.  It may speak of something we know or offer a glimpse of something we want to touch in our own life. It's physical and cerebral, emotional, ethereal and concrete - at all once.

I think we buy what speaks to us in our own internal language - maybe not explainable, but understandable nonetheless.  It is connection to others and to our inner selves.  

Art "Treasures" on a Shelf 

So that's how I explain it . I'd love to hear your thoughts. What do you think? What makes you choose to buy art?