This is a question I get asked a lot regarding my own personal choice of what type of art I choose to create.  Art to me is something that comes from the soul … that moves you on an emotional and spiritual level.  It has the power to induce you into a state of elevated consciousness and get you high.  That’s right … GET YOU HIGH! It’s a visual drug that allows you to escape your current reality, if only for a moment.  Not because you need to escape necessarily but because you want to.

Again … Why Abstract Art? We can talk about color, shape, form, texture, line etc. … that is all part of the abstract anatomy but what really matters to me is the emotional component.  The inner trigger that sparks a raised level of awareness about the present moment.  Okay, I’m getting a little deep here.  I’m doing that for you to experience the foundation of why abstract art, or should I say, what abstract art is about for me as an artist.

 

 

Why Abstract Art … My Influences

In addition, I was not directly influenced or inspired by any one abstract contemporary artist.  It actually happened in reverse for me.  I simply had some deep inspired imagery come in one day while painting a large canvas of 2 to 3 columbine flowers.  The first abstract art painting I produced (featured above) was purely guided and completely spontaneous.  I will say, however, once I started painting more abstract work one name kept coming up … Jackson Pollock … and, at that time, I had not heard of Jackson Pollock.  My background in art was very traditional and I chose to go the commercial route so my inspiration came from artist like Andy Warhol, Peter Max and even Georgia O’Keeffe.  I was drawn to their bold colors and graphic styles.

So if you have to ask me … Why Abstract Art?  I would answer … because it feeds my soul and inspires my life.  It makes me complete as a person and allows me to offer an open door into another reality for anyone who chooses to step through it. Creating Abstract Art allows me to creatively breathe and continue on my life’s journey in complete wonderment of what lies just beyond the current horizon in my mind’s eye.  Ah heck, it’s just down right fun to create and share with the world … Seriously!

In this article, “Original Art as an Investment“, I’m not going to talk about buying famous works of art created by artist such as Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali or Andy Warhol … that’s more about financial investment.  That’s an investment into original art that will only go up as times goes by.  Why?  Because there are only so many of those artist works in the market at any given time and there will NEVER be another one created because they are dead. Bare with me, I’m just getting the “dah” part out of the way.

I’m also not going to talk about Lithographs, Serigraphs, Giclées … limited editions or mass produced prints. Whether they have an original artist signature on the certificate of authenticity or if it has a remarque (an original drawing made by the artist in the margin of a print).  I’m not even going to talk about Certificates of Authenticity themselves. Although all of those topics will be great for future articles.  What I want to talk about, in this article, are the emotional investments you make by owning an original work of art.

Original Art As An Investment … Everything is Energy

(Get ready for little mind bending here.) So with that in mind, I believe that we seek out what we need, to balance ourselves in our daily lives.  Why buy original art? Original art is alive and has it’s own energy that was deliberately put there by the artist.  A focused visual intention that was created from a place of love, born from the need to express oneself at the purest level. God I love this part!

With that said, I believe we seek to fill in the missing pieces, or balance ourselves, as we go through our life.  Original art just happens to be one those physical manifestations that helps us provide balance and harmony, by seeing it in our lives, on a regular basis.

I know, some of you are saying … “Right on man!”, and some you are saying, “I have no idea what you this guys is talking about.”  Just roll with it.  It may make sense later, it may not.  At a bare minimum I’m giving you another perspective that you may not have heard before, or at lease in this way.  Let’s just say you’ll think twice next time you see … “Original Art For Sale.”

Original Art Invests In You

Told you I was going to stretch it out a bit.  For some of you … I stretched it out a lot. The biggest reason to invest in original art is for what it GIVES TO YOU on an emotional, and some would also say, a spiritual level.  Simplified … Does it move you? Make you feel lighter? Brighten your day? Does it provide a new perspective or expand your mind? Does it help you reach into parts of yourself that you never knew before, or see things in a new and different way? … Does it INSPIRE You?

When you buy an original piece of art or original art as an investment, you’re buying it in it’s purest form.  A high end reproduction has some of these qualities, but … it’s not the same.  It’s just not the same.  And, it doesn’t have near the financial value either.  I mean, you never know if you are buying an original art piece from an artist who turns out to be the next Jackson Pollock.  But, BIG BUT here, if you do … wouldn’t you rather have the original?