cedar’s blog

Cedar November 14th, 2008

The weather has been pretty dreary around here–cloudy, rainy, and dark.  I’m preparing myself for the long, cold months ahead.  Winter is always a bit hard for me–I lived in tropical Florida until I was 10, and I’m a sun-loving creature of summer.  So I will choose to focus on the good things–the prospect of snow (always exciting!) and the cozy, comforting things that I associate with this time of year, like blankets, candles, and hot tea.

I have a couple of new paintings finished, but I’m waiting for a day with enough sunlight to photograph them.

Meanwhile, here’s the next Frequently Asked Art Question I’ll attempt to answer for you:

Will my art be valuable someday?

Of course I would like to say, “absolutely!” but the truth is, art’s value over time is a tricky, if not impossible, thing to predict, so you just never know. The value of my art has approximately tripled in the past 3 years, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. Even so, the dramatic short-term appreciation of my artwork may not mean all that much, say, 50 years from now.

I can certainly make predictions, but I can’t make any guarantees, especially in a time like this, when the value of money itself is so iffy.

When I take into account my level of commitment to my work, and the favorable results my work has seen so far, I predict that this upward trend will continue and the price of my paintings will increase over the course of my life. And after I die, chances are the value of my art will skyrocket—as long as an artist is fairly well established during his or her lifetime, this is usually the case.

I predict that I will be a pretty well established painter by the time I die. I am only in my 20s, I’ve been selling my art full-time and professionally for less than 5 years, and I’m already represented by multiple art galleries, have had my work in multiple reputable exhibitions, and have a good track record of sales—these facts are all very promising indications of my future success. (Click here to read a few juicy tidbits about my credentials.)

But still, my general advice to art buyers would be this: Don’t buy art (mine or anyone else’s, excepting very famous dead artists) only as an investment. Buy it because you really want it and love it, and then you will never regret it. You will have the pleasure of living with the art and enjoying it as long as it is in your possession. If the artwork ends up making you money years down the line, that will be an added bonus!

I found a good article on an investment site called “The Art of Investing in Art.” The whole thing is worth reading if you are interested in the subject:

http://www.greekshares.com/art_of_art_investment.php

Here’s an excerpt:

Art speaks a language-subjective and unique. Most people who have made money over the years, haven’t bought art as an investment. Nearly everyone, from art experts to gallery owners to financial advisers, emphasize that investment should never be the sole-or even the primary-reason to buy art.

I. E. C. Haramis feels, “Collecting art can be one of the most enjoyable ways to spend money. An engaging work can provide its owner with a lifetime of visual pleasure-and then fetch cash! But investment in art should not be solely financially motivated! Buy what you love, because even though it might go through a transitory devaluation, the intrinsic value of the work will always be there!”

Recent news about the economy is pretty depressing—all doom and gloom. But I’m not too fazed by it.  The economy goes through constant fluctuations—yes, things will probably get much worse before they get better, but they will get better. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen next in the grand scheme.  Based on what I’ve heard on the news, even economists seem bewildered, and I’m no economist.

However, I’m optimistic about my personal success even in the face of tumultuous changes in the economy. I have yet to see any decrease in my recent art sales. Meanwhile, the value in what I do will remain, in part because art is valued not only quantitatively but qualitatively as well. It’s the kind of thing that can be sold now, or 10 years from now—it will always have value as long as there are viewers who connect to it.

As my friend Alyson B. Stanfield says, “Artists are vital to every economy and contribute to the elevated spirit of great civilizations.”

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