how to build an art collection
I'm such a tease. No seriously, I've been teasing you on how to find and buy art and I haven't got to the good stuff yet. Because if you're reading this, you seriously want to know WHAT YOU SHOULD BUY!!!!!!!!!
You can try to trust your gut, but even the most accomplished aficionado has to start somewhere. And there's no judgment here. I wasn't born with a good eye (and even saying that now I feel like I'm bragging but I have been told I have a good eye and still no idea what that means). You aren't born with a "good eye". You develop it. When you first taste caviar, it tastes like salt foam. Eventually you develop an ability to differentiate nuances and then suddenly you understand the difference between salt foam and perfectly formed minuscule pearls of deliciousness.
But first things first: you must do your homework and read my previous posts:
Lots of good advice in those posts and resources on where to buy art.
So, HERE. WE. GO.
your personality
Now that you've narrowed down your choices to less than a million, it's time for the fun part! Selecting the art that will go up on your wall and hopefully be a part of your life forever.
But before we click "add to cart" on your faves, I have a few pointers to selecting art that will truly wow. Forget colors -- colors will come later. You will find you will naturally gravitate toward certain colors, but let's leave color out of this for now. I feel like it always better to determine a color scheme after the art has been selected. And even if you have color on your walls already, it's ok to go against the color and totally surprise yourself.
First and foremost, you should think of your home as a living, breathing person full of personality. And like with most humans, there are several layers. It is up to you which layers you deem most important, but I like to model my home after myself. Just for the sake of argument, I'll break down my sensibilities:
Funny
Audacious
Unusual
Modern
Youthful
Non-traditional
Unpolished
Earnest
Bratty
Driven
Energetic
Disturbing Obsession with the 90s
Really, really obscene
Arty
Pop culture fanatic
I find that I really gravitate toward pieces that reflect these elements of my personality. Good art is not only beautiful to look at, but it tells something about the viewer and what they think of themselves. That's why I caution anyone against buying mass produced or trendy.
Another shortcut to choosing artwork is to breakdown the kinds of art that make a good collection.
Abstract
Figurative
Portrait
Photography
Drawing
Take a look at your favorite gallery wall and try to spot each one.
So let's take it to the next level, shall we? Developing your eye for art that is right for you and stylish at the same time.
1) WORD ART
STOP! You're about to purchase that very inspiring, uplifting framed quote. I'm not judging you -- I, too, want to be told to "Begin each day with a grateful heart" or "Home is where the heart is" or "Keep calm and carry on" but that doesn't mean it needs to be on your wall. Ok I am judging you. Shame on you. There's nothing worse than art that tells us what to do. I'm here to elevate your design choices. That means throwing in a few curve balls here and there.
But that also does not mean you can't love word art. Instead opt for something like this:
Technically it's word art, but it's so much more. Art is meant to reflect humanity and humanity is multi-faceted. And nothing is funnier than a needy, creepy anthem to love.
The other option for Word Art is a neon sign. But if you're going to go this route, let's do better than "Rose all day" shall we? First of all rose is empty sugar calories and gives you a headache, and secondly that phrase is meaningless. Do you really want to be defined by "Rose all day"? Plus it's tired and not funny anymore.
I want you to go back to your high school literature class days and think of something that really moved you. It's ok to be sentimental, but if we're going to be sentimental, let's use our own memories. Something that changed your life. Something that spoke to you. I'm going to give you a moment to ruminate, but when you're ready head here to design your own personalized neon letter sign:
https://www.yellowpop.com/pages/custom-neon-signs
Just for fun, here is my favorite poem by Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky:
Want Bone
The tongue of the waves tolled in the earth's bell.
Blue rippled and soaked in the fire of blue.
The dried mouth bones of a shark in the hot swale
Gaped on nothing but sand on either side.
The bone tasted of nothing and smelled of nothing,
A scalded toothless harp, uncrushed, unstrung.
The joined arcs made the shape of birth and craving
And the welded-open shape kept mouthing O.
Ossified cords held the corners together
In groined spirals pleated like a summer dress.
But where was the limber grin, the gash of pleasure?
Infinitesimal mouths bore it away,
The beach scrubbed and etched and pickled it clean.
But O I love you it sings, my little my country
My food my parent my child I want you my own
my flower my fin my life my lightness my O.
Something like that...
2) PORTRAITS
I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for portraits. Some might think that having another person's face staring back at you is creepy, but I love the discomfort. I see it more like a window into another person's point of view staring back at you. Besides, I like creepy if you haven't guessed.
And just like there is an art form to painting a great portrait, there is an art form to picking the perfect portrait for your home.
1) Look for interesting faces. I love a pretty face, but picking out only pretty faces is a little superficial.
I have a theory about portraits and paintings, etc. It's ok to pick a pretty face, but there has to be something about it that spoils it so it's not so perfect. In the picture below, it's the execution. It's still very attractive but the painting is not very detailed. It's almost amateurish. Don't get me wrong -- I couldn't paint it. But it definitely is not done by a master photographer like the one on the left. It is child-like. Simple.
For more on the subject of cool, check out my blog post here: https://www.melaniethomasdesign.com/post/no-fail-steps-to-make-your-house-look-cool
Plus, I love her little curl and lipstick. So real wins over perfect once again!
3) ABSTRACTS
Choosing between abstracts gets a little harder since they are inherently "imperfect". My most important rule of thumb for abstracts are that they must be pleasing to the eye. First let's explore bad abstracts, AKA hotel art abstracts.
You see, all three are perfectly pleasant unoffensive works of art. BORING. There's nothing that grabs your eye. Nothing that makes the colors unusual or intriguing.
Now let's try some new ones:
In this last set, the colors are more interesting and the technique is a bit more refined. Other than that, there is not much that separates the bad from the good. Which is part of the fun, too. Remember salt foam vs. delicious sea pearls that burst in your mouth.
Developing your eye
Probably the best way to develop your eye is to check out what other curators have picked. I'm going to tell you a secret -- that's what I do. I identify attractive shops from other influencers and then shop with my eyes for hours and hours and hours. That's why I wear very thick glasses.
I have some favorite curators that I like to peruse from time to time:
Saatchi Art (curated collections on the front page)
Take a look at the art they've curated. These folks have impeccable eyes and one can learn a lot from them.
And because I guess I’m somewhat of an art curator, you can check out what I’ve curated! I’ve an extensive Pinterest obsession which you can now benefit from: PINTEREST.
That’s it! What are your thoughts? Anything you would like to add???
Let me know below!