Abstract Art Blog

The Art of Investing in Art

It's a great topic, investing in art, or at least it used to be.  Now the news is bad for wealthy art collectors just as it is for the rest of us.  Do even modest art investors need to be worried that their collections will lose value?

Not if they've purchased art they love.  The true reward of investing in art is that it enriches your life every day. Your 401K may tank, but the art will still be there for you.

I've invested a lot of my money in art supplies so that I could make art.  I don't believe in skimping on canvas, paint and brushes, no matter what the economy is doing.  But I'll be drinking less champagne and eating eggplant parmigiana instead of Maryland crab cakes for awhile.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the USA, and I'll be cooking for eight.  If you're celebrating this holiday, have a good one and be safe on the roads!

Another Art Trail Weekend:

Because our October art trail open studio weekends were so successful, about fifteen of us will be having our studios open this last weekend in November as well.  We have no idea if we'll get a crowd or not, but maybe we'll make it an annual event.  A lot of visitors come to Ithaca at this time to visit their children at Cornell or Ithaca College.  

It's another chance to clean up the studio and offer some special prices on selected pieces.  If you're in the neighborhood and think you can make it, find a map to studios at the Greater Ithaca Art Trail Website.

Visiting California

This week Adrian and I are in California "baby-sitting" two of our grandkids while their parents are on vacation in Hawaii.  On Tuesday, we all went to the Triton Museum in Santa Clara.  The exhibit we liked best was Ann Weber's WONDERLAND, a collection of large sculptural pieces made of woven cardboard stapled together and shellacked.  Some of the pieces were over 16 feet high, so it indeed felt like walking through a wonderland of organic, whimsical, always-interesting shapes. 

We saw another piece by Ann Weber later in the week at an "all cardboard" exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art.  This was a group exhibit with a huge variety of approches to making art out of cardboard.  One piece which summed up my feelings about a lot of conceptual art was a stack of cardboard boxes reaching to the ceiling with the word "BLAH" stenciled on each one, as in "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah . . ." 

Too many of the pieces in this exhibit were simply reproductions of ordinary objects, such as a lounge chair, or clothing on a clothesline.  It may have taken some craftsmanship to make these items out of cardboard, but what makes them art?  Only the theory-filled verbiage written on the wall next to them. 

My favorite exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art was a small room filled with works by San Francisco abstract expressionists from the 1950s and 60s:  Elmer Bischoff, Ernest Briggs, Edward Corbett, Edward Dugmore, James Kelly, Frank Lobdell, Deborah Remington, John Saccaro, and Hassel Smith.  Since my greatest influences were the NY abstract expressionists, it was fun to see the connections between them and their west-coast counterparts. 

California Dreamin'

We just got back from five days in California, where we celebrated a granddaughter's Batmitzvah.  It is always a tonic for my eyes to embrace California landscapes after seeing nothing but the northeast for so many months.  We managed to get to Santa Cruz for one day, driving from Los Gatos through the mountains to get to the beach. 

In Los Gatos we stopped in at the Linda Durnell Gallery where we saw some exciting abstract art. I'm sorry I didn't take notes because now I can't remember the artists' names, and the gallery website doesn't describe their current show.  If you want to check it out, however, many of their artists have work on the site: lindadurnellgallery.com.

When I got back, I had to get a giclee print on canvas ready for shipping:

   Sun Rising, 30" x 40"

Now I just need to adjust to east coast time again.

A Year of Making Art, Day 330: Mark Dion at Bertram's Garden

March 15, 2008  Day 330

For this morning's drawing I made a black-and-white minimalist sketch:

  Drawing #337  14" x 11"

Recently I received a notice about installation artist Mark Dion's project for Bartram's Garden--America's oldest botanical research garden.  I was offered "promotional materials that would be useful to you and/or your staff of writers interested in this project."  Wow, it must be great to have a staff on board to help you promote your art.

Unfortunately, I have no staff whatsoever and have to make the art, photograph it, write about it, update my website, and do all the marketing/promotional/bookkeeping work myself.  That's the case for most artists today.  The lucky few have a staff.

However, I don't mind putting in a little plug for Mark: you can check out his project at MarkDionsBartramsTravels.com.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 267: Still Brain Dead

January 11, 2008

I am still brain dead after returning from the West Coast.  Silly errands and desk-clearing took up most of my day.  I promise, I will get in gear soon!

Thus, today's drawing was also embarrasingly simple and quick:

  Drawing #273  9" x 6"

Tomorrow I will start on larger paper again.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 266: Inspired or Simply Lazy?

January 10, 2008 

Our flight back home was suprisingly easy, with all flights on time and the last one arriving in Ithaca a few minutes early.  When we got home at 10 p.m. we unpacked and then noshed and watched TV, staying up late since we were on California time.

Today it was hard to get out of bed and motivated.  To start with, my computer would not start.  The studio was cold and it has radiant heat, so it takes a long time to warm up.  This computer has been on its last legs for a while anyway, so I ordered a new Imac.  I have never used an Apple computer, but this one is supposed to be easy.  It's the transition that I dread.

Finally, I got around to drawing and made another small and simple one.  Was I inspired by Miro or simply lazy?

  Drawing #272  9" x 6"

Later, after it warmed up, the computer started.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 265: Flying Home

January 9, 2008 

We fly home from California this morning, so I did my drawing in a bit of a rush, and then did another one to make up for it, also in a rush:

  Drawing #270  6" x 9"

  Drawing #271  6" x 9"

It will be a long day, with a three-hour layover in Philadelphia if everything goes smoothly.  I plan to lose myself in an Ian McEwen book and some New Yorker magazines.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

 

A Year of Making Art, Day 264: Miro at San Jose Museum of Art

January 8, 2008

It is raining again in Palo Alto, California, and I heard it was 65 degrees and sunny in Ithaca, New York.  Bad timing.

We went to the San Jose Museum of Art this morning and saw a Miro exhibit of 60 prints, mostly lithographs.  His work is so inspiring--light, energetic, playful, and simple, but very strong.  We also viewed three rooms of the museum's permanent collection, finding a number of interesting pieces.

In my drawing this morning I used mostly the small-tips of the calligraphy pens in order to make a more detailed piece:

   Drawing #269  9" x 6"

Tomorrow we are heading home.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 263: Baylands Nature Preserve

January 7, 2008 

Today we went to the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, where we took a hike in the Byxbee Park Hills overlooking the marshes.  The park was created over a landfill and the hills contain up to sixty feet of garbage covered with clay and then topsoil.  Landscape architects and designers created the park as an environmental art form and recreation area.  Peter Richards and Michael Oppenheimer were the artists involved in the design.

The marsh waters were high after all  the rain this past week.  Ducks, geese, seagulls and other birds were numerous, as well as people out walking on this rare day of sunshine.

After that, we walked around downtown Palo Alto, eating lunch outdoors at a Mexican restaurant.  Here it is January, and we were eating OUTDOORS--a real treat!  We walked around checking out galleries, but most of them were closed because it is a Monday.

My drawing this morning took on an overall patterned design:

  Drawing #268  9" x 6"

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 261: We Brave the Storm

January 5, 2008  Day 261

Our drive to San Francisco yesterday was a bit precarious, with high winds, some flooding, and branches down, but because the traffic was light, we made it in good time.  We met my sister Mary at her office and had a great lunch with her at Fuzios.

Back in Los Gatos later, we played Catch Phrase, which was a lot of fun.  Then we continued work on the gingerbread house, which culminated in covering it in tons of colorful candy patterns. 

In today's drawing I used the Zig calligraphy brush pen again, and a fine point black pen:

  Drawing #266  9" x 6"

I'm ready to go home now and get back to work, but we have four more days.  At least this morning it's not raining (yet).

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)