How To Choose Art: “A Beautiful Morning Feeling”
Before I dive into the specifics, I would love to share with you one true story that happened few years ago right behind this window at Frame & Mat Shop in Holland, MI.
One day I got a call from this framing shop/gallery that has been exhibiting my art: “Alla, we have a woman here who has been coming to look at your art. Is it possible for you to come while she is here?” “I can’t believe you are calling now! I am passing your place by and yes- I am turning around and coming right away!”, I responded excitedly.
In just two minutes I was there. The middle age woman was still there quietly staring at my art. The staff gently introduced me to her. (”Gently” because as you all know- the staff interference may cause a negative reaction of a potential buyer. The choice of words, intonation- everything matters in this art of communication, right?)
I felt that she is a quiet spoken person, who came to the shop for framing, but was impressed with the art displayed there. She felt compelled to buy one of them but did not know which one to choose. “I like all of them”, she said.
From my experience I knew that learning more about her, her home environment, including other family members (I am always conscious about them to protect my buyers from a possible family disagreement on the money spending or the choice of art), I decided to take an extra step and offered her to visit her home, to look at her space. She was warming up to me and agreed that that would be the right thing to do. Somehow, she trusted to bring a stranger to her home.
”This is the wall I want the art on”, and she pointed to the wall right in front of the bed. The bedroom was all in white and grey colors and had rather masculine atmosphere without any embellishments or feminine touches. Believe me, I don’t have any problems with that!
“I have no idea what painting to choose. I like all your paintings, I like flowers and landscapes, watercolors and oils”, she quietly said.
I did not want to make any recommendations and decided to take another bold step and invite her to visit my studio to look at other paintings. I knew that by observing her reactions to a variety of paintings I would be able to narrow down her preferences.
As she became more comfortable with me, she explained: “I just want to open my eyes in the morning, and have a “What a beautiful morning!” feeling!”. She said it as she was staring at some of my small size tulip painting. “I like those tulips!”, she ended.
Now, after spending with her around three hours, hearing and observing her, a clear vision has beautifully visualized in my creative mind: tulips in cheerful positive colors, lit by the rising sun with sparkling morning dew… with predominantly yellows and oranges.
In my deep interest in color psychology, colors have been shown to change alpha brain waves. When color is transmitted from the eye to the brain, the brain releases a hormone affecting the emotions, mind clarity and energy levels. And as far as orange, this vibrant color calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth.
In two weeks she came back to pick up her painting: her glowing eyes expressed exactly what we wanted to achieve:
”What a beautiful morning!”
Are you ready to get down to the specifics (not rules) of the buying the art. If you don’t care how you feel in your space the way Susan did, then following popular approach of matching your furniture or walls could be an easy approach. A bad one. My advice will be more for people, who want to bring to their homes something meaningful.
Let’s get to the business!
FOR ART BUYERS: SIX STEPS TO BUY THE RIGHT ART for your home:
Follow YOUR intuition. You don’t have to “know” or “understand” art to make your right choice! You may feel a strong connection with a specific piece of art, without any logical reasoning, and sometimes rather unexpectedly, and your decision may come undoubtably easy.
Ask yourself these questions: What is the purpose of the buying art? What feelings and reactions do I want to experience by looking at the piece of art: happy or calm, energized or relaxed, bringing out warm memories? Each of this answer leads to a very specific color choice, subject matter and even brush strokes.
Ask questions of the staff where art is displayed (coffee shop, hotel lobby, gallery, etc.)
Send an email to the artist.
Ask for a private studio visit.
Do not feel obligated to make the purchase at that time. Nobody is going to be upset at you if you don’t buy a piece of art! The staff or the artists will enjoy and benefit from communicating with you just as much as you do. Why? Read further!
FOR ARTISTS: BENEFITS to artists of communicating with potential buyers:
Majority of artists will be thrilled to have a conversation with you, a person who appreciates their art! It’s simply ego-boosting! And all artists need that from time to time!
Personally, I am immensely enjoying to be a part of the thoughtful process of choosing the right piece of art for a specific person (or a family). Even if the potential buyer is only a potential one, the time spent together is oh, so inspiring to paint more! At times, those meetings bring me new ideas!
Email me and let me guide you to find the perfect piece for your or a loved one: art@dicksonkingdom.com. Or fill out my easy questionnaire and let me help you find a piece of art that fits you and your family HERE.
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Vision is one of the most influential sense of a human being. Therefore, visual arts play a significant role in our daily life. The psychology of color is highly interesting, but very underestimated in our fast and overstimulating era. Read on about Sensitivity and the VISUAL sense.
