I’m not an experienced art collector. I’ve been to plenty of museums and have seen the great pieces to admire. The first pieces of artwork I owned were all prints from artists that connected to me on an emotional level.
8 years ago, while on a vacation in Maui, I noticed an art piece on display in our hotel. I loved it so much I went out of my way to ask the concierge about the art piece and where the artist was located. Turns out that the artist had monthly shows at the hotel’s art events and the next event was going to take place while we were staying in the hotel. I had to meet the artist and see more of her work.
Fast forward to 2014 - we had another visit to the same hotel. I emailed the artist again and found out that I was lucky enough again to visit the island while the art show was taking place. This time I wanted to show my husband and talk with her about commissioning a piece for our house. A short time later we had our piece hanging in our dining room and I couldn’t be happier to remember the journey of that piece and all that it means to me.
To me, part of collecting art is piecing together moments and experiences that are hard to verbally express but those that speak to our emotions and imprint in our memories. Some of my favorites (included in the image): Lori Koprowski, Jen Garrido, Kristi Kohut, Erin Fitzhugh Gregory, Britt Bass Turner, and Yao Cheng just to name some but enough to give you an idea of what style I like.
WHERE TO BEGIN FOR YOUR ART COLLECTION
I’ve been trying to better understand what is the art style for me. There are so many places to look for art inspiration and to learn more about your style.
1. Magazines – especially interior design magazines. Here you can find great photography of amazing home interiors and in most cases the article or caption provides information on art included in the home. Take the time to read the fine print and if you really like the art do some research to find the artist online. I love Elle Décor, Veranda, House Beautiful, and Architectural Digest.
2. Online flash sales – I really love going on to OneKingsLane and Joss & Main first thing in the morning to see what sales they have. Many times, along with all the other great furniture and décor pieces, they have great art collections for sale. It’s really educational for me to scroll through the art pieces and see which pieces I gravitate towards. Sometimes they have original pieces for sale and sometimes they have print pieces which can be a great way to introduce art into your home on a budget.
I found one artist on OneKingsLane and did some online research to find the artist, email her, and come to learn that she is local to the San Francisco Bay Area. So, I went to her studio to meet her, see her work, and ending up picking a piece with my son. It was a great experience and that piece currently hanging in my home and serves as a great memory for me with the little guy.
3. Art shows – the season is nearly upon us. Summer time and art shows are synonymous to me. I love to stroll through the up and coming artists and talk with them about their inspiration and hear their stories about their pieces. It’s educational to see all the different styles of media and techniques and feel how I gravitate towards one style or color scheme versus others.
4. Pinterest – one of my favorite places to go for inspiration. Just do a quick search for whatever you’re looking for. I will start with ‘watercolor paintings’ and see what comes up and then once I find a piece that I like I can follow images with similar style to see where that takes me. Once you’ve collected some images of art pieces you like, you’ll get a good idea what style resonates for you. Most of the pins have hyperlinks to sites where you can find more information on the piece or the artist.
5. Hotels – go on an adventure and pay attention to what is displayed on the walls. Usually there are some really cool pieces that you can find. Use what you find as a starting point to see what else you can find on that artist.
Here are a few of my favorite website to try for curated selections:
www.minted.com
www.artstart.com
www.upriseart.com/
Bottom line - if you really like it, buy it, whether it is $50 or $500 or more.
8 years ago, while on a vacation in Maui, I noticed an art piece on display in our hotel. I loved it so much I went out of my way to ask the concierge about the art piece and where the artist was located. Turns out that the artist had monthly shows at the hotel’s art events and the next event was going to take place while we were staying in the hotel. I had to meet the artist and see more of her work.
Fast forward to 2014 - we had another visit to the same hotel. I emailed the artist again and found out that I was lucky enough again to visit the island while the art show was taking place. This time I wanted to show my husband and talk with her about commissioning a piece for our house. A short time later we had our piece hanging in our dining room and I couldn’t be happier to remember the journey of that piece and all that it means to me.
To me, part of collecting art is piecing together moments and experiences that are hard to verbally express but those that speak to our emotions and imprint in our memories. Some of my favorites (included in the image): Lori Koprowski, Jen Garrido, Kristi Kohut, Erin Fitzhugh Gregory, Britt Bass Turner, and Yao Cheng just to name some but enough to give you an idea of what style I like.
WHERE TO BEGIN FOR YOUR ART COLLECTION
I’ve been trying to better understand what is the art style for me. There are so many places to look for art inspiration and to learn more about your style.
1. Magazines – especially interior design magazines. Here you can find great photography of amazing home interiors and in most cases the article or caption provides information on art included in the home. Take the time to read the fine print and if you really like the art do some research to find the artist online. I love Elle Décor, Veranda, House Beautiful, and Architectural Digest.
2. Online flash sales – I really love going on to OneKingsLane and Joss & Main first thing in the morning to see what sales they have. Many times, along with all the other great furniture and décor pieces, they have great art collections for sale. It’s really educational for me to scroll through the art pieces and see which pieces I gravitate towards. Sometimes they have original pieces for sale and sometimes they have print pieces which can be a great way to introduce art into your home on a budget.
I found one artist on OneKingsLane and did some online research to find the artist, email her, and come to learn that she is local to the San Francisco Bay Area. So, I went to her studio to meet her, see her work, and ending up picking a piece with my son. It was a great experience and that piece currently hanging in my home and serves as a great memory for me with the little guy.
3. Art shows – the season is nearly upon us. Summer time and art shows are synonymous to me. I love to stroll through the up and coming artists and talk with them about their inspiration and hear their stories about their pieces. It’s educational to see all the different styles of media and techniques and feel how I gravitate towards one style or color scheme versus others.
4. Pinterest – one of my favorite places to go for inspiration. Just do a quick search for whatever you’re looking for. I will start with ‘watercolor paintings’ and see what comes up and then once I find a piece that I like I can follow images with similar style to see where that takes me. Once you’ve collected some images of art pieces you like, you’ll get a good idea what style resonates for you. Most of the pins have hyperlinks to sites where you can find more information on the piece or the artist.
5. Hotels – go on an adventure and pay attention to what is displayed on the walls. Usually there are some really cool pieces that you can find. Use what you find as a starting point to see what else you can find on that artist.
Here are a few of my favorite website to try for curated selections:
www.minted.com
www.artstart.com
www.upriseart.com/
Bottom line - if you really like it, buy it, whether it is $50 or $500 or more.