I am no expert in art, but I do have a few pictures, mainly by First Nations artists from western Canada. This page shows some of the artists that I like and some of the pictures that I have bought. Of course, this means that anyone bidding against me at auction will start to recognise the art, artists and general style of pictures that I like, but hey, it doesn't take long to work that out either
Joane Cardinal-Schubert
My current favourite artist is
Joane Cardinal-Schubert
in fact the first piece of original art that I bought was by her and
it is still one of my favourite pictures.
Either by good luck or fortunate (I have no pretense to belief that it
is inherent good taste) the Moonlight Sonota series are featured on
the artist's web site. I was not able to purchase the first in the
series (which is the picture featured) but at least I got one of
the pictures.
The image on the right is the actual picture that I have (Moonlight Sonota III) rather than the original in the series and the one featured on the web site.
The image on the left is called Horse Protector but that was one of
my failed attempts to buy at least 2 other pieces but have been outbid.
I like to think that this is an indication of my good taste in recognising
an artist who's pictures are appreciating in value. In fact it is
probably just a reflection on the fact that I don't have enough
money. The picture to the left is called Horse Protector and was
for sale on day 2 of a two day auction. I had a particularly successful
first day, and consequently had so little money left
that I was easily out-bid for this particular piece. Which goes back
to my belief that I may not have the best taste in the world, but
I definitely don't have enough money to play with the big boys
of the art world.
Alex Janvier
Another First Nations artist, and also from Alberta is
Alex Simeon Janvier.
I like a lot of his earlier work, the more recent pictures are a
little too angry for my taste (and a good number of them are just
too BIG for me to put them anywhere). I attempted to purchase an
original but was more concerned with trying to buy the Joane
Cardinal-Schubert in the previous section.
I was able to purchase a print recently, which isn't quite the same as owning the original, but as I like to purchase art to look at it and appreciate it, rather than as an investment as long as the print is of something that is nice to look at, the prime objective has been achieved.
John Agg
Sometimes I find that my own taste appears out of step with the
rest of the art buying market. Which is a good thing because it
means you can pick up a piece far more cheaply. This the case with
the following picture. For whatever reason I liked it, but it was
badly framed and as the artist painted it over 50 years ago I hold
out no real hope of it ever particularly increasing value, but then
I have never bought art as an investment- I buy paintings because I
like them and I want to look at them. If they become more valuable
over time, well that is just a bonus
Ikyutka
And then there are pictures (or in this case a print) that
you know nothing about, can find out nothing about the artist, in
fact I am not even sure I can pronounce the name correctly, but you
just like the look of.
Purchases for Other People
A few years ago I house sat for some friends whilst they were away on vacation and we needed somewhere to stay whilst we were in Calgary. Rather than pay for the privilege I offered to buy a picture for them- so armed with a budget we hauled ourselves off to the art auction and they chose a number of pieces that I would bid on to try to win. This is the winner and I believe it still hangs in pride of place in their master bedroom's en-suite bathroom
Other Stuff
Then, of course there are all the other pictures that you want to
keep. The story around this one is just amazing
And if you ever see the photo taken after 20 years (and an incredible
story of the search to find her you will see how life changes our faces.