[Closed] Have you ever bought a unique original work of art?

yep, I've sold a few too!

Yep.

I make and sell, "totally unique and original works of art" if anyone's interested 😀

i've been given several.

Yes. We have a wall mounted glass thing. Cost a few hundred quid and it was a very nervous 350 mile drive home with it in the car.

And I bought one of Roper's drawings as a unique Christmas present for my folks. They absolutely loved it : )

He's a very talented chap is Roper.

watches and cars do stuff, they're useful. It's a whole different step to spend a lot of money on something that while arguably good for the mind, doesn't actually do anything.

So no, most I've spent on art was about 25 quid for an oil painting of rivington pike because I really liked it. Tiny thing it is though.

I became a modest collector of this Artist's work when living in NYC - although not necessarily unique - more custom

http://www.lepageny.com/LP.Artist.html

Yup from a guy called Jo Burt or something wasn't for me was for a friend a few us chipped in.

Yep, I've bought a few paintings / pastels. Some original, some prints.
Whilst I agree with Samurai that watches "Do stuff" - the difference in functionality between a £10 watch and a £10,000 watch is zero; it's all appearance after that.

My wife paid £250 for one of [url= http://www.robertantell.co.uk/gallery_195964.html ]Bob Antell[/url]'s pastels for my Xmas prezzie. It's very traditional art, neatly done, and I love it. I suppose it's not unique because there are both cards and prints made from the orignal, but I think that increases my enjoyment of the pastel. He's a friend of ours.

It's not a status thing unless you leave the price tag on, or it's one of those production line pieces from Mr Hirst's studio 🙂

Mate is an artist and did a pencil drawing of my old man, which I bought as a present for my mum after he died.
If he had charged accurately for the amount of work he actually put in, per hour, even at minimum wage I would not have been able to afford it.

My friend painted this (Its Afrika Bambaata btw)

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Got another original painting but no pics.

i've bought photographs. the last one was a splendid black and white shot of Nick Cave

Yes. We've got a fair few original oils, watercolours, charcoal drawings etc as well as a number of limited edition etchings and prints. Most expensive was a fair wack for a large oil seascape - a wedding present from my wife - going on the artist's current prices it's since tripled in value (not that I'd ever sell it). I guess I inherited the habit from my parents who are both art mad - I've always bought stuff I loved - started from when I had money from a paper-round and saved for an old pen and ink of a harbour scene.

(And I paint myself - had stuff selling in galleries etc too though since my daughters arrived I've had less time to get things onto canvas)

I have bought a couple, one was for my parents

[i]Mate is an artist and did a pencil drawing of my old man,[/i]

A very close friend then. 😯

Not bought any but have plenty around the house. My wife is an artist and she has some 'famous' and not so famous artist friends who have given us work.

I have Pete.

Hopefully I will afford some of yours one day, or maybe you could discount it and saw it in half?

I wish
I might this year, I don't know yet. At the moment I need to make some print of my uncle's shoot (that's is job though) he doesn't plane on using them for job purposes so I might just have some original artwork then 😀

/lights touchpaper for the 'I'm considerably more superior than you and only my opinion is valid' STW massive

Yes - tattoos count don't they?

😉

That's very nice Simon
thanks for the plug.

I should declare an interest here. I am a painter, though this wasn't a fishing exercise. There are a couple of cyclist paintings here. They were originally bought by Holly Johnson of Fankie Goes to Hollywood fame. The gallery bought them at auction and are back up for sale.

http://www.thompsonsgallery.com/Marylebone/InternalMain.asp
> http://www.thompsonsgallery.com/Marylebone/InternalMain.asp <

Oops that has jut come up as a general gallery main page link. My name is Peter McLaren. Go through 'gallery artists' to find pics

I picked this up from a local tat shop. The owner assured me that it was original. I think it's rubbish but the wife likes it.

[img] [/img]

Drac 🙂

If you were ever in the Original Art shop in the Manchester Arndale, it's the chap who used to have the section with the Laurel and Hardy/Magnificent Seven/Stars of Silent movies pencil drawings.
Now photocopied by knobsters and available at a car boot sale near you every weekend.

Would be delighted to put anyone in touch with him.

It's interesting that the concept of status has been brought up - a large number of artworks seem to be bought as status symbols (others as investments).

I'm not sure we have anything original, but that's because we haven't really had the disposable to concentrate on fine things. Also, it depends on what one likes - Mrs North and I rarely agree on such things, which makes that sort of thing a lot harder, although we did agree on how much we hated some watercoulours that a gallery salesperson was trying to foist on us!

I've got a few pieces by this guy: http://www.tapfumagutsa.com/sculpture%20gallery.htm
plus an original Quentin Bell
All money well spent and bring a great deal more joy than 'practical' items.

We've got a couple of paintings - great things to own IMO. Can't afford it at the moment but will buy more at some point.

Current favourite artist, though well out of our price range, is David Piddock.

[img] [/img]

If you fancy getting something original but don't want to spend alot try a graduate show at your local art college, you may pick the next Hirst!

Do those who make and sell their art do so at an organised location or just sell to friends? It seems getting work into galleries is likely to be hard and limited in numbers and audience.

I'm not an artist but I know somenoe who is, who paints amazingly well but never sells any because she doesnt think they're good enough (despite several people commissioning paintings and then later accepting her offer to have them for free, annoying).

In Bristol there are several art fairs held annually in the artists' houses - it's become quite an event, traipsing around one part of town and looking at art. Good fun, and a good way to get art seen. Some cafes will also put art for sale on the walls.

I do like the Piddock. [url= http://www.bouchardpaintings.com/exhib_pic_03.html ]Philip Bouchard[/url] is also fascinating in the modern surrealist vein. I'd buy one if I had a shedlaod to dispose of.

Only ever bought one bit of art work, got dragged to a gallery with the Mrs, who new the artist, after a few free drinks, ended up buying a oil canvas called "Fire".

That's where it ended up 😉

We bought our 1st piece at the "affordable art show" which is a bit of a bunfight but a good way to see loads in a short amount of time. I like the Bouchard, great colours. The arabian journeys collection has some wonderful stuff, what kind of money is it?

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acjim: I went to an exhibition of Bouchard's in Bath, and the big pictures were all done to commmission and cost £10k+ (I think). They're very detailed and very large. But there are prints for sale at about £100.

handfull of stuff by my dad and a print of a cartoon drawn by one of the broadsheet cartoonists,

its a print because he did the original after seing the "poo chute" at our house and wondering if we'd ever thrown the cat down it. The original was a proper back of an envalope job, still got it in case he ever becomes a propper artist 🙂

ouch 10k, maybe when I've got the wife back to work 😉

I bought a page of original comic art (Judge Dredd) by one of the lesser known artists but I like it. (getting it into a decent frame cost more than the art).

Almost bought a page from V for Vendetta but wussed out in the end 'cos I was far too broke to justify it.

Colin -T, you may be surprised to learn that one of the Judge Dread artists works from a croft on Orkney.

bought, been given, am actively looking for paintings at present for investment, and found a sketch in my present house that is possibly worth a lot of money (the house was part of an artists commune owned by nancy wynne-jones in the 60's) though to me its monetary value is irrelevent as its such an amazing thing to have found (along with some photos of the poet w s graham who lived here and some of his mates including tony o'malley).

You're in good company Mcmoonter - my old man's on that gallery list;-)

yep commissioned and bought a painting for my dinning room and I love it and to be honest that the key to it, find something you love to see or somebody whos art you like and go from there, that way you'll never regret it. If your after investment, its like any bet you might make, place your money and see what happens, the Royal Academy used to have a student shows and I guess that increases the chances of it being of value but it doesnt narrow the odds a lot, lol.

I've bought a few pieces.

None for investment. Just things I like.

[img] http://www.artco.co.uk/system/artwork/1813/mainImage?size=450x450 [/img]

[url= http://www.alanflood.co.uk/ ]Some by this artist who I know[/url]

I collect Ian Hamilton Finlay (books and individual prints/ other stuff) because I like it, oh and some Richard Deacon macquettes.

A few limited editions (Brian Pollard, Warwick Higgs) but can't afford the originals!

Glad someone mentioned Philip Bouchard (nice guy, apparently): like his pictures.

Would like to be able to afford a Paul Delvaux... No chance!

Like that picture acjim!

Michael Parkes is another favourite (again, no chance!)

Sadly Freedrick, Lord Leighton, John Everett Millais and Lawrence Alma Tadema will always be out of my price range!

So Heather Bash, who's your daddy? I may know him.

if anyones interested MrsNutt is astonishingly talented at pencil drawings, photographs to pencil, if anyone's interested like? She did an amazing sketch of the HMS Victory, fully detailed rigging for a navel enthusiast, he loves it, goes over it with a magnifying glass, it was something else!! (too cheap too! bless her 🙂 )

Yes. Definitely in the affordable category, but several watercolours by a friend called Anthony Smith who is a wildlife artist and 7 or 8 different works by various New Zealand artists as my wife is a Kiwi.

I also started a charity about 9 years ago called Hospital Arts For North East Yorkshire which commissions artists to produce pieces for the local hospitals around Scarborough and we have purchased and commissioned around 100 individual pieces from 30 or 40 artists including a sound installation, ceramics, glass art and some fabric pieces. They don't get to hang on my wall but then the money doesn't come from my bank account either.

JulianA- do you have any knowledge of a Delvaux called "Le Reve" (The Dream)?
I remember it from years ago, but can't find a photo of it anywhere on the web.
It means something to me - the woman in it looks so like MrsM did in her 20's.

I have a dozen or so, and a few prints. Spent from a tenner at a boot sale to a couple of hundred, plus lucky enough to have talented parents and neighbours. Mostly landscape scenes of places I like, but a couple of cricket oils and prints now. Never seen a cycling picture to give decent room space to, but have a few Mint posters in my man caves. Would like to get a decent painting/photo of "the look", 2001 TdF Lance Armstrong, but never seen one I like, they all crop in on Jan and Lance, but the image from the video is much better composed with the French champ and USPS guy in there too.

Few of my own hanging around but never bought anything, got a few friends who have bought some nice stuff, nothing expensive just things they like.
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I have several original paintings by a couple of artists. Bought them because I liked them, and luckily they've appreciated a wee bit as the artist has got more recognition.

aP - IHF and Deacon - a man of taste. It was a perk of my old job transporting art exhibitions to get to have a snoop around Richard Deacon's studio. Finlay's son Alec puts out some very good book works too,

In my art transport days I used to meet a lot of real proper addict art collectors. Real art buyers, in the sense of people who buy [i]real[/i] art and who [i]really[/i] buy art, are a rare breed.

There is something like 1.6 percent of the population who are the 'type' who [i]would[/i]might[i] buy contemporary art, but they might just as likely be into audiophile hifi or thoroughbred horses or high couture, or even niche bike bling. People who are real collectors do it thoughlessly, regardless of their means or the practicalities.

I had to collect together all the work for a massive Surrealism exhibition once - examples from galleries and museums all over the country. But the vast majority of the show, and I mean about 90%, came from a wee house in the suburbs of Leeds. We'd sent a guy up the day before and he'd spent the whole day wrapping two truckloads of art, and when I arrived the next morning there was was another work hanging on every empty hook. He had this big painting in the the living room that was so big he'd had to cut notches out of the ceiling joists to fit it in.

I know another guy who has been collecting one artists work his whole life, he started buying when he was a student, spending a quarter of his years grant on a painting.

People who buy like that don't do it because they have loads of money, or because they are investing, or because they want to show off. They do it because they can't help themselves.

Mcmoonter

'Alistair Thompson' (sic)

I see the Thompson website managed to spell his name incorectly on the hyperlink and the link pic is not one of my favourites tbh but he's sold a lot through them over the years. Far better known for his Scottish landscape work... Must be thousands in collections across the world now - he's just turned 80 and still paints most days.

... and you? That Scottish exhibition they are running has some cracking work - are any of yours amongst them?

skidartist - in the late 80s Richard Demarco pretty much arranged for me to spend some time at Little Sparta, but then IHF got ill. 🙁

Heathge Bash

I dont know your old man.
I'm Peter McLaren there are some biking pics on the Thopsons Gall site

We've bought a few paintings over the years, ranging from £50 to £500. Not done as an investment, but just because we liked them. Plenty bargains out there if you hunt around cheaper galleries or go to art fairs or college exhibitions. There's something nice about owning something unique.

I've made a 'living' from my work since I left the Edinburgh College of Art in '87. I'd say there is a fair mix of folk who have bought my work. From people who have nothing but a pure passion for collecting with little money, to collectors with massive collections and the museums to house them. Thats half the thrill, never knowing where a painting will end up.

I've never been one to buy flash watches or flash cars, but then I've only ever exchanged my work with other artists to acquire theirs.

Not for myself but paid more than I thought I (we) would for one of [url= http://www.peterhillgallery.co.uk/ ]Peter Hill's[/url] paintings of Burbage Edge in the Peaks. He did it to specification so totally unique. (And online pics don't do his work justice).

Every piece of artwork up in our house is unique and original. Its one of my indulgences. Me and Mrs Binners buy em for each other for anniversaries and suchlike.

Great places to pick stuff up are end of degree shows at decent universities. You can get great work there from up and coming artists. If you know how to spot some genuinely good stuff, then you can be quids in too. Not that I'd ever sell any of mine

Impressive CV McM -some nice work too...

Think I'll set up an online free gallery for small-scale artists - seems you have fairly limited outlets for work!