Grandma and Grandaughter enjoying the wonder of hands
The other day I was sitting in a waiting room at a doctors office. On the wall was a perfectly nice print, the same print that I had seen on a friends wall, and in the popular furniture store near the city. This print sold for the price of a custom made painting made by an artist. Sure not quite as big, and maybe not as trendy, but full of heart and life and passion. Just today I was walking through the local shopping mall a lady was selling some canvases which had real paint on them. I looked at them, the prices seemed affordable, but they were repetitive. The same paintings painted over and over. Both concepts are great marketing ideas and easy ways of selling current fashion items. But my point is that I would rather some individuals work of art, or even be happy with a limited edition print of a well-known and loved artist knowing that only 50 or so other people would have it hanging on their wall.
I don’t know about other artists, but when I paint paintings I do it with passion, thought, and love. It is not some generic image. It is something or someone that I have an invested interest in. Something that I felt compelled to paint. Some paintings take months to make before I even get a paint brush to the canvas. I dwell on the image in my mind and wait for it to form. Some just spontaneously happen and flow straight from my mind/heart through the paintbrush to the canvas. What’s my point, or my ‘beef’, next time before you buy some generic image from some shopping centre or furniture store stop and think about it. Consider a unique piece from your local art gallery.
