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Preface - Welcome to the Club | My Art Colelction - Art Collection / Art Collecting Fundamentails Tutorial

Preface - Welcome to the Club

For many of us art is essential to our quality of life. As for me, I've been attracted to art for as long as I can remember. Color catches my eye first, then form, and at that point I take in the different ways artists see things.

To educate my eye I studied art history and took classes in drawing and painting. Working with artists both in galleries and independently taught me that there are as many reasons to paint as there are artists. I also learned that whether the artist portrays beauty or squalor, a place in time or a geometric genome, there is a common thread that binds—the drive toward creativity.

Along with enjoying the company of artists, I've had the opportunity to meet the people who make the lifestyle of the working artist possible—the patrons. Meeting people from all walks of life, from the first time buyer to the seasoned collector, has taught me that art is purely subjective and that there is an artist out there for everyone. It has been said that art seeks its owner, and I believe it to be true.

I've read that it is life-enhancing to surround yourself with your own creativity . As a "Sunday painter" myself, I can bear this out. I have experienced the pleasure of having my own work hang on my walls. I also had and still have a wonderful painting done by my sister and some small pieces given to me by artists whose work I'd represented, but it was not exactly a collection. Being in the art business it's ironic that the more art I was exposed to the more critical I became. While I saw much that I liked, there was nothing I loved enough to put my hard earned cash out for it.

Then one bright Saturday morning my husband and I happened upon a craft fair as we drove along an upcountry road. In the distance I saw splashes of pure color radiating in the Maui sun. "What was that?" I said to my obliging man, "Stop here!" We made a beeline past the flowers, quilts, jewelry and jams to the most exciting body of work I'd seen outside a museum. Long story short, a collector was born. The work literally grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

Collecting art is a lot like finding your true love. You'll know it when you see it. You just have to get out there.