Years ago a former employee of ours walked into a client’s home. The home was FILLED with art. The young man was immediately drawn in. He told the home owner that he was interested in collecting art but didn’t know anything about art or even where to begin... Blog post material for sure!
So… let’s start today with the “Why”… why should you start OR continue to grow your art collection… and because I f*cking love lists, I’m even giving you a handy dandy list here.
1) Because you’re worthy of unique art. Target or Target’ art (however you want to say it) SUCKS. There I said it. No offense but it needs to be said. When you buy mass produced items, no matter how cute it may be, you’re not buying art, you’re buying stuff... the same exact stuff that tens of thousands of other Target shoppers have in their homes (boring - especially for a unique individual like you!).… so treat yourself to the unique art you deserve!
2) Your personality is great. With one out of the way (and a slew of angry Target fan hate mail on its way to me) let‘s talk about you and your personality. You’ve painted your home and chosen furniture to reflect your tastes. Your car matches your lifestyle. You dress yourself everyday to show the world who you are. Why stop there? Collect the art that you connect with. Are you fun bright and colorful? For god sake’s Susan, will you put the damn Target sh*t down and listen? Unbelievable... Anyway, collect art that connects with YOU and your personality. You get to choose! Now proudly display your individuality for friends and family to see.
3) Collecting is fun. I could just end it right there, because it’s that simple of a concept but for real, collecting art is fun. The thrill of the hunt, the chase, the score… and then living with your trophy? *Chef’s kiss…
4) Build a legacy There’s this cartoon I saw… an old man is standing in front of his garage, the door is open and inside you can see the garage is stuffed to the brim with junk… junk in piles, junk in boxes, junk everywhere. A young man stands next to the old man, looking on in abject horror as the old man states, “One day son, this will all be yours”. LOL. Now what if instead of junk, that garage was filled with art? That young man would have been jumping up and down - unless he’s some weirdo that hates art. When you collect art, you’re not just creating value for yourself, but for those you will one day leave behind. Leave them art… they don’t want boxes of your old magazines.
5) To adorn your home. This should probably have been number one, if I hadn’t had such a desire to shred Target art right off the bat, but this is both a great and simple reason for collecting art: you don’t want bare walls and shelves. I was once in a home with zero decor… and let me tell you, that huge home with not a lick of decor? Serial killer energy vibe… just saying. You need art.
6) To connect with an artist. Art is made by artists and these people (I’m not even going to start with AI art right now) just like you, have stories, dreams, hopes and why’s. Oftentimes collectors will feel a sense of kinship with certain artists and feel inspired to collect: go with it. Connecting with an artist that just seems to “get you” is a beautiful thing. And if the artist you’ve connected with is still alive and well… maybe you’ll even make a friend (which is cool if you’re not living in a cave with “zero human interaction” as your life’s goal). Also, wouldn’t recommend hanging art in caves… I have a story about that one but we’ll save it for another day.
7) Conversation pieces are legit. Ok so imagine this: you’re hosting a dinner party for your boss and coworkers. Everyone shows up. You’re a bit nervous. You don’t know what to talk about. Everyone is there quietly staring at your boring Target art with not a thing to say. Now you know that everyone thinks you’re square and you’ve been so busy worrying about what to say, that you just burnt dinner. Now you’re a square dinner burner…
Now let’s imagine scenario two: Everyone shows up. You’re a bit nervous but you’ve got a home filled with fantastic art. Sure, not everything is pricey, but it’s unique and fun and your coworkers are asking you about all your pieces. They want to know the story and you know the stories of all this fantastic art - easy conversation for the win. You’ve got so much to talk about that you still burn dinner but no one even cares because they’re just too interested in your art. AND look at you glowing, just getting all damn excited talking about your treasures. You may have burned dinner but your coworkers think you’re so interesting and worldly and your boss is thinking that she needs someone like you in a more managerial type of role… someone with such good taste, someone so knowledgeable… how had she not picked up on this before?
F*cking art man… powerful stuff.
8) Get in touch with yourself. I’m not going to get into the reasons you should be loving the sh*t out of yourself, but I will say that collecting art will help you in the self love department. When you take the time to surround yourself with art that speaks to you, you’re telling yourself that you are worthy. When you have art in your home you are celebrating your likes, desires, wants and needs DAILY. Self love for the win. Uplift your every day.
9) Consider yourself a patron. Well look at you all fancy and sh*t… now you’re a highfalutin collector. Ok so you may not be dropping six figures + on your next art purchase (if you do though, you can check out my website lol) BUT you did just spend money on an artist’s art and not give to some big box store. You’re a patron of the arts and any way you want to look at it… that’s cool. I wouldn’t have “ART PATRON” made into a badge to wear around town, but you’re still officially cool even without all the officialness.
10) You may just collect the next big thing. One minute you’re not, and next thing you know, you’re hot… that’s the arts for you. Which if you collect art is exciting af. Imagine buying a piece in your twenties, and then that artist blows up (literally or figuratively) when you’re in your fifties and their art is now worth a ton? Look at you, you freaking investing genius you. Now I’m not going to say that you should or could bank on your collection making you and your family Rockefeller rich, but I will say that when you collect art, that’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Buying art is like buying a beautiful scratch off lottery ticket that you get to live with - shitty metaphor no doubt, but that’s why I paint and don’t write. ;)
Well there you have it… A comprehensive list for why you should start or continue that art collection. I hope you found this helpful. Happy hunting!
