It seems insane for an artist to give away free works of art. How do they make money if not by selling art? Well, I do make money selling art, but I give away free art, too. I make a lot of art and sometimes some of the things I make aren’t perfect. I am not giving away “factory rejects.” Those imperfections have value; they are part of my development as an artist.
I believe collectors value my growth and want to be part of my growth. Free art is a way for me to include collectors and future collectors in my artistic process. My free art takes on the forms of compositional sketches, warm up carving boards, experimental tests with new paints and pigments, proof copies of photographs. Often these works of free art are the first piece of my work you put in your art collection, maybe even the very first piece of art you ever collect. I like that! I adore being on a journey with as a growing art collector.
Collecting art, BUYING ART, is intimidating! How do you know what is good art? How do you know if the work is going to increase in value? Who decides which artists are blue-chip? How is any of that relevant to the color palette in your house? How can you tell what a work of art means? Are you being “ripped off”? How do any of the prices of art make sense? Is it a good financial investment? Why pay so much for something that is legitimately just going to hang around on a wall?
PRO TIP: None of that matters.
THE FACTS: Very, very few people in the world buy art as a financial investment. Most of those financial investments are not even available to the average person, not even if the buyer has the money to support the purchase. Often works of art purchased for an investment portfolio never make it to a wall in the investor’s home and instead end up in storage facilities or as donations to museums (which again can mean the work goes into storage). An artist can be seen as a blue-chip artist one year and fade into obscurity just as quickly. The institutional purveyors of fine art are far removed from the day-to-day reality of art, artists, and collectors.
In case you didn’t find a free piece of my artwork, I do have work for sale on my site, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter below for information about upcoming art giveaways!
THE BOTTOMLINE: Buy, collect, and display artwork you love by artists you find fascinating. A good work of art starts a conversation in your home. It is a good story to share with your family and friends. I hope that this piece of random, found artwork in the middle of your travels sparks a great story! If a piece of art in your art collection matches your couch, that’s awesome. But if you fall in love with a black and white punk rock flamingo emblazoned with spikes on a background of pink and purple graffiti vomit that clashes with everything you hold dear in the world, THAT’S EVEN BETTER! Because you love it and everyone who matters to you will love that it makes you happy.
There is a popular saying in my neck of the woods. It appears alongside a tacky pink marble tower in the middle of pine ridge just east of a swamp, “Make the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it.” (Edward Bok) I hope my artwork does that for your world. I hope my artwork is complete nonsense and that it makes you smile.
