Cristina Clarimon Art Gallery

While the same rules apply for collecting pretty much anything you can think of, collecting fine art seems to be the cause of some trepidation among neophytes. The truth is that collecting in general is an enjoyable journey of discovery and learning.

The myth of prior knowledge that discourages many novice collectors is a misleading notion. You should not feel that you lack the expertise needed to successfully put a collection together. That will come in time and it will grow as your collection expands.

John Lennon said it best: “All you need is love”…and in the world of collecting this is the very first and most important requirement. A deep love for the object itself be it a quilt, a vase or a painting, should always be the starting point of a collection.

After that, the hunt begins. Enjoy this process and be patient. Experience the joy of searching on your own terms and go where your heart takes you. Never allow someone else to select items for your collection as it would transform it into something impersonal and disconnected from you.

Buy those objects that tug at your heartstrings. Don’t think in terms of monetary returns or investment and don’t worry if you cannot afford works by internationally known artists. The emerging artists you are supporting today could very well be the famous figures of the future.

Notice how your taste changes over time. If your focus shifts into a different arena a great option is to trade or even donate the items you wish to remove from your collection. Perhaps, you could give a piece to a friend who loves it and, in turn, spark the launching of a new collection. Eventually, you will find your niche. Specialization on a specific medium, style or period emerges with time.

Above all be a good caretaker of your artworks. You are a link in a long chain that will go on for as long as a piece remains intact. Read about how to best expand the life of you collection and how to protect and properly store the items that you so lovingly and patiently gathered.

Time will do the rest and you will acquire a great deal of experience and an education that no other pursuit could have provided. The artwork you selected for your collection will tell your story and your collection will be a tangible and beautiful reflection of who you are inside.

Cristina Clarimon Alinder is the owner and curator of ArtHaus66 Contemporary Gallery, an online art gallery specializing in the promotion of mid-career and established contemporary Spanish artists.

She believes that everyone should have the opportunity to view and collect beautiful, high quality yet reasonably priced artwork. Visit her online art gallery to learn more.

What does art collecting looks like in times of economic downturn? To be perfectly honest, it looks quite lifeless. Nobody can deny that the ability to put aside money for discretionary purchases such as artwork has really gone the way of the Dodo bird. It is, no pun intended, not a pretty picture.

Nonetheless, there are things that we can all do to continue or perhaps start collecting without breaking the bank. Artists are offering highly collectible artwork at unprecedented low prices. They have also seen a decrease in their sales and have repositioned themselves to accommodate those collectors with shrinking funds.

Search high and low for the kind of work that catches your eye and your heart. Use the Internet to locate galleries who will work with you to meet your needs. Gallery owners and dealers will find that special piece for you and will help you purchase it with payment plans, layaway options or on the spot discounts.

If you find or are introduced to an artist whose work you love, ask about his or her price range. There will be cheaper pieces and more expensive ones and you can choose. That means purchasing a drawing instead of a painting or perhaps asking for the same photographic print in smaller dimensions. There are always options. Remember that both the artist and the dealer want to find a home for that piece. If you love it, they want you to have it.

Another option is to put a larger more expensive piece aside and pay for it in installments. You might not have $700 of discretionary income at your disposal this very month but can you spare $50? Put a small down payment on the piece and reserve it. It’ll be yours before you know it and it will be quite painless.

Work with a reputable dealer who will get to know you and your particular focus. They can often make deals and get special prices that you would not be able to get on your own. Make sure they pass the savings on to you. Everyone should benefit from such transactions: the artist, the dealer and the collector. Having someone help you from within the art world should not mean more fees or hidden price hikes. Your dealer should rather be your main ally in your efforts to grow your collection.

Collecting is a little bit like a Nike commercial:”Just Do It”. Ask about pieces already in inventory. There are real gems in storage in galleries all over the world just waiting to be unearthed. The truth is that artists do not want earlier work back and dealers cannot indefinitely store it. It’s quite often the best, fastest way to find that special item.

Snatch a tabletop mixed media sculpture for $85 or an assemblage for $65. A drawing can start as low as $100 for an 8×11″ and prints are always extremely reasonable and very beautiful, with limited editions starting at $250. Even small paintings are not out of reach these days…Do not hesitate and you’ll be glad you bought while the market was yours for the taking.

Cristina Clarimon Alinder is the owner and curator of ArtHaus66 Contemporary Gallery, an online art gallery specializing in the promotion of mid-career and established contemporary Spanish artists.

She believes that everyone should have the opportunity to view and collect beautiful, high quality yet reasonably priced artwork. Visit her contemporary art gallery to learn more.

By the time you decide to take a second (or rather third) look at Facebook, your income will surely have been down for a while. If you are in the art business (be it as a dealer, gallery owner or even an artist) the market at this time is immobile at best and your prospects are shrinking while you are trying to decide what to do next. It is true that in this line of work ups and downs are a common occurrence, but the market crash has turned the usual changing winds into a hurricane that has blown away the familiar landscape of art collecting.

In a matter of months we are finding ourselves adrift in the stillness of an empty sea with no land in sight. Collectors have been decimated by the economy and the ability to purchase art (or perhaps, even the willingness) seems to have drowned, weighed down by fears of an impending recession. Many Americans who made their living in one way or another through art, are barely making their mortgage payments or covering their most basic expenses.

It is at this desperate time that you need to find an outlet for your work or the work of those you represent. Desperate times always call for desperate measures and even though you might have a natural aversion to all things technological, plunging into the virtual world of online networking may be your only chance for survival.

Let yourself be propelled by the notion that someone out there is searching for this exceptional artwork and the extraordinary talent that you are bringing forward. You just needed to reach them. You need to find them.

You are not guaranteed a smooth transition and you will probably be riddled by doubt: How can I make the time for such things? Who’s going to care about it? The answers will not present themselves right away, but you should resolve to set a few goals to help yourself stay on task.

Facebook will be your window to communicate ideas about your art and the artists you represent. You will be promoting your work by creating an outlet for your vision. Post images and comment on them. Talk about your sources of inspiration. Strive to introduce others to new artistic trends. It will be a challenge, but one you will be happy you undertook.

After a few short weeks of regularly posting on Facebook you will be encouraged by fans (I bet you did not know you could have any), comments and good reviews. The artists you meet will be happy with the additional exposure you offer them through your site and folks that otherwise would have never found you will get to know your art and will become interested in purchasing some of your featured artwork.

For now this computer-generated lifesaver will keep you afloat in the treacherous undercurrents of today’s art world. In the meantime, try keeping your gaze fixed on the horizon because the waters are bound to recede sometime soon.

Cristina Clarimon Alinder is the owner and curator of ArtHaus66 Contemporary Gallery, an online art gallery specializing in the promotion of mid-career and established contemporary Spanish artists.

She believes that everyone should have the opportunity to view and collect beautiful, high quality yet reasonably priced artwork. Visit her online art gallery to learn more.

At the other end of the rabbit hole, among the ferns of the New Zealand countryside, there sat a little girl by the name of Frances. She really, really wanted to see the scurrying pink eyed rabbit come out of that little patch of darkness. She imagined herself engaged in a formidable argument with an ill-tempered caterpillar and she wished for just a little sip from Mock Turtle’s tureen brimming with beautiful soup. She simply needed or better yet, she demanded, something fantastically absurd to happen.

Many times before, she had heard fabulous tales in which princesses slept inside crystal coffins undisturbed for centuries, their beauty preserved by inexplicable magic. She had read accounts about wooden boys turned real by the power of true love. She’d listened to myths of tiny fairies fluttering about and little winter pixies huddling inside a magpie’s nest. She was utterly convinced that all these creatures were out there in the forest, teasingly glancing at her without allowing themselves to be seen. Yet Frances always felt truly at home in this land of make-believe among her whimsical companions.

This is how Frances Melhop grew up to be a story teller. Her affinity for fairy tales only became a stronger source of inspiration as time went on and, quite naturally, women became the focal point of her visual tales. Her photographs now incorporate every possible aspect of the archetypal female: the damsel in distress, the marionette craving for autonomy, the persecuted heroine and the youngster untainted by malice or deceit.

Frances’ characters are never regarded as mere objects of tantalizing beauty, but rather as vehicles through which the story is told in successive vignettes. Melhop despises the way in which women have come to be portrayed in fashion and advertising. Often times they are nothing more than the unwilling recipients of a vulgar and distasteful set of attributes and expectations. In sharp contrast, her work breaks away from this trend to render females in a much more thoughtful, considerate and elegant manner.

Marionette is an ideal illustration of how, through such a succinct and forthright image, Frances Melhop is able to imply the many layers of meaning within the tale. Here, the puppet and the master are one and the same. The duality of their roles develops into a symbiotic relationship between them. It is a complex bond that simultaneously grants them both freedom and confinement.

In appearance, the human is simply in command of the toy. Paradoxically, the puppeteer enacts her dreams through the actions of the marionette, so that the puppet turns into an agent of freedom despite her attachments. The issue of ethical behavior and personal boundaries is candidly addressed in this photograph.

What remains unequivocal is that Frances Melhop is the one gently holding the strings behind all her images. Her work is distinctively her own. In recreating these fairy tales she whispers secrets, unveils beauty, washes away bias and connects us all with the acorn of truth that sleeps within our collective consciousness. Her lens is the rabbit hole of our childhood that holds the promise of a magical, kinder world.

Cristina Clarimon Alinder is the owner and curator of ArtHaus66 Contemporary Gallery, an online art gallery specializing in the promotion of mid-career and established contemporary Spanish artists. Visit her site to learn more.