Purchasing, Collecting and Investing in Art

There are four reasons for a person to buy a piece of artwork:

1) They need or want to give it as a gift to someone else.
2) Because an empty space needs to be filled and the selected piece will serve the purpose in a complimentary fashion.
3) Impulse – you saw it, fell in love with it and just had to have it.
4) Financial investment.

Any of the above reasons for purchasing a piece of art are totally valid.
However the critical rule for any art purchases is that; everyone sees a piece of art differently.

1) If you are buying art for another person, firstly ask yourself this question:
”Am I buying them this gift to look aesthetically pleasing on their wall or am I buying it to convey a message on a deeper level?”

If you are buying it because you want it to look nice in their home, consider the colour scheme of the space in which you intend for it to sit. Consider the size of the physical space available and how overpowering or mood affecting the piece will be. If you are simply giving the piece to them as you would a vase, ornament, photo frame or mirror; remember that neutral is often best. Art is so personal, anything with a strong colour, image or representation may be interpreted in the opposite way in which you viewed it. Smaller pieces are often appropriate as gifts as they do not make such a statement message. A large piece of work that you like and think your recipient would like, may cause a host of problems if they do not appreciate the appeal!
Once chosen – it’s often a good idea to write on your gift tag “I saw this, I thought of you and think that it will look beautiful in your……..” This way they will then begin to view the piece through your eyes and start to see it as you have.

If however you see a piece and have an overwhelming sense that if you give it as a gift you will be saying:
I really love you.
I really understand you.
I’m sorry.
I knew you’d love it.
This will mean so much.
This will make you smile.
This will make you remember.
Then you are making a huge statement that you really understand how this person thinks and feels. In this instance, you should know someone extremely well. If not they may look at the piece on receipt of it and think that you are completely misguided, thus undoing all of your great intentions. 
If buying a piece as a personal gift in this way, look at the other artwork that they own, establish if there is any kind of theme or correlation; style, size, colour, medium etc. This will be a great starting point for making the right purchase

2)  If you are buying a piece of art, because you have an empty space that lends itself to housing a piece of artwork, ask yourself the following question:
”Who will see the work, once it is hung and would I like them to feel a certain way once they have viewed it?

Assume the piece is for a dentists waiting area. You’ll no doubt want artwork that reflects a calm, serene environment to subdue any potential anxiety.
Imagine you wish to hang work in a florist’s. Images of bright exciting, colourful and unusual flowers will be a superb talking point for customers and staff alike.
If you have an office foyer, would you want people to feel awakened? Would you want to encourage creative thought with conceptual pieces or would you want to promote serious and structured thought? Would it be more appropriate to house representational work with concentrating figures sat around a table?
If you are picking a piece for an environment in which people sleep either at home or in a hotel environment do you want to encourage restful thought for the evening or stimulating thought for the morning?

If your artwork requires a specific intention, a good gallery owner will be honest when sharing with you the general consensus of opinion a piece received, regardless of your personal likes or dislikes. Impartiality is crucial when selecting work for a public space.

If you have no intention for the artwork other than to fill the space, ask the galley what response the work has received. You may be surprised to hear that a majority of viewers perceived it differently from you.

3) Buying a piece, simply because you fell in love with it is the best kind of art buying possible; the least contrived, the most passionate, the most enjoyable and the one that will keep the smile on your face for the longest amount of time. If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford a piece of art because you truly love it, snap it up and cherish it forever. You and the artist will share a connection for the life that you own the piece. On some level they created something that you came to adore as much as they adored conceiving it.

4) Investment in the form of art can be entered at one of three levels:
High risk = maximum investment potential.
Medium risk = medium investment potential.
Low risk = potentially minimum investment potential.

Working with a gallery as exciting as Rebecca Hill is similar to investing in
the stock market.  
Firstly you should research the artists as you would PLC’s. Establish where they sit on the risk scale and then weigh up your confidence in the potential return.
In this instance you should track the people who intend to produce for a period of time, work consciously to develop their skill set and technique and who inspire unique vision to the art scene.
You have three types of artists worthy of investing in:
A) Those who have already worked their way up the ‘investment potential’ ladder. They have already worked hard to establish their name and they command high prices for their work. The hard work has been done for you as they have proven sales and a price tag that speaks for itself. The value of their work will invariably continue to rise in line with the number of pieces that they continue to produce. Quickly if in their prime, more slowly if their prime has passed.
B) Those who have recently joined the commercial / professional art scene and are already selling quickly. This work will have a low to mid range price tag but raise will quickly, giving you the best return on your investment.
C) Those who have recently joined the commercial / professional art scene but have not yet sold. This work will have the lowest starting point, with the largest investment potential. However this is the most risky investment as you are hoping that you pick work that other people will then see the potential in too. You’ll effectively be setting the trends for others to follow – providing you get it right!

The more work that any one artist sells, the higher the artist will then begin to price their future pieces.
The more expensive their current pieces become and the more reputable the artist is - based on the exclusivity of the galleries that exhibit their work, who they are shown alongside and the media coverage that they receive, the more valuable your original purchases will become.

You can establish your return in one of two ways:
Buy fast – sell fast = making a reasonably small return on each piece.
Buy fast – sell slow = potentially making a huge return on each piece.
The key is to buy when the pieces are worth the smallest amount possible and sell when they can command the highest amount possible.

However an artist can sink in value just as they can rise. Giving it the stock market or property market investment buzz and appeal!

An artist will devalue if their commerciality nose dives due to a sudden change in style, if they stop producing all together or if economic times means that art is not selling.

Therefore making your investment now could not be better as many full time artists – whose livelihoods are dependant on sales, are willing to negotiate on price; getting you an even better bargain.
Equally if you are a new art collector you will be starting at a time when art as an industry is priced at its lowest, giving you the largest margin for profit.

To discuss any of the above in more detail, for advice and / or direction – please book an appointment with Rebecca who will be more than happy to guide you.