STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

bumblebee · Dooney & Bourke

art!

Elle · Hermes

Do you have any larger colleges/universities nearby? They often offer shows of works done by students, and the students are usually quite willing to sell their pieces for a reasonable price - they're just glad someone wants to buy them!

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

Well, my fiance is an artist, so i could email you .jpg's of his stuff. His prices are reasonable...

Sorry for the shameless plug.

Anyway, the best thing to do is to buy something you love. Do you like looking at this piece? If you really love it, then you should get it. If you buy art solely as an investment, you may end up regreting it. Don't worry about whether the art will increase in value. If it does, great. If not, you can still enjoy it everyday.

(P.S. - does the work come unframed? Ask at the gallery about having it framed by them. They'll give you a better rate than if you take it somewhere else. If the piece is large, though, it may add about $150-$200 to the price)

(P.P.S. - to answer your question: no, I haven't spent that much on a piece of art, but it's not from a fear of dropping that kind of dough -- it's from the lack of dough. If I had that money, I'd get a print by a fairly well-established artist, or maybe some of the older work of a more well-known one. Pace gallery in NYC has surprisingly affordable (<$1000) prints by fairly well-known artists)

-- Edited by Starstuff at 16:16, 2004-12-15

sfclinevandy · Coach

I think if you love it... then get it. I know some people look at art as an investment, but I just get what I like. I'm lucky though because one of my best friends is an artist and another friend's mom is too. There styles are totally different but I still like a lot of their pieces so I've scored some great deals.

For future reference, LMonet's idea about getting pieces from college kids or up and comers is a great idea. My friend had people buying her stuff while she was still in highschool and she even began doing portraits then. People were getting great deals because she was basically an unknown then and her work was (and still is) amazing. There are talented artists everywhere who aren't always featured in galleries, so it's fun to always keep your eye out.

If you get it, please post a picture so we all can see!

bumblebee · Dooney & Bourke

thank you ladies, for all of the responses. they will frame the piece at the gallery, for $200. so i will probably do that. i really do love this piece, so i think i am going to get it.

and that's a great idea about checking out art school shows--i live in LA so we have lots of that and i will look into it. thank you all again.