Art for the Heart
Impressions of Middleton | Oil on Canvas | 76x76cm
Mike says about this painting "Although the sand cliffs at Middleton in South Australia are no where near this big, memories of things distort reality but not the feeling of the day we experienced the scene!"
FIRST BLOG for 2024, by Artist Mike Barr
"Art for the heart"
There are three main reasons why people buy original art and sometimes two or three reasons all at once!
Firstly, in the upper stratosphere of art collecting, certain paintings are bought as an investment and may never be publicly shown.
In the every-day buying of original art it’s more likely to be something that goes nicely with the décor and makes a statement or a piece of art that has a pull on the heart strings – and sometimes it’s both.
With décor art there are certain things that come into play and it’s not always colour. Size is an important ingredient. If the blank wall is big and part of a large room, then it makes sense that the artwork is of large dimensions too – a smallish one can easily get lost and its place as part of the décor might be lacking. Conversely, if a room in narrow as in hallway, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have large paintings hanging there, that don’t have to room for someone to stand back and see a painting in all its glory.
Colour is so important when thinking about the décor that will surround it. Blazing, jarring colour will certainly fight against most décor settings. However, paintings that have a definite colour theme will fit in much better with specific décor situations – I’m pretty sure some home-improvement shows don’t understand this! Often, works that contain a limited palette are more likely to beautifully fit in with a planned room décor.
The other reason for buying original art is the subject matter. Paintings that are of specific places, things and people, are likely to bought because they relate to a memory and the pull of memories is a strong motivation.
This is why it is more than important when titling a painting, particularly of a place, that the name of the place finds a part in the title. People want to know where it is! Even if the work is impressionistic and doesn’t quite conform to the details in a photograph, the feeling of a place that was once experienced by a viewer can be overwhelming. It is often the case that viewers will have their own story about a painting that was not in the artists mind when it was painted. I have personally found this to be true in a quite a few cases.
In almost all painting sales, the heart comes into play. We may like a painting and admire an artist, but we really need love something before we take something home to hang. Often it takes a few gallery-visits for the love to grow and then the courtship can end with a union that can last a lifetime!