Developing Artistic Taste For Your Own Home
Have you ever visited a home whose furnishings were arranged around good artwork? If felt as though the house was 'all of a piece', a coherent whole, and that it reflected the interests and life of the owner. It felt as though no one else could possibly live there but that individual. Have you wanted to live in a home with well-chosen artworks of your own? It's possible You can develop good taste in art. Even if you feel you don't have great taste in art right now, or that you like too many different things for an art collection to 'come together' for you, you can make it happen.
The first thing, of course, it to figure out what you like. I don't mean what other people like, what a reviewer says is hot, what you think you could sell later for more money... but what you actually like. What do you want on your wall for months and years on end? To contemplate, to enjoy, to rest your eyes on? What expresses...you? Where do you start to build this confidence?
Look at art. That seems simple enough, right? It's pleasurable and interesting to walk in and out of museums and galleries for a look-see. But don't stop there: wander through local art fairs and flea markets, too, because art is where you find it. You just never know what you'll find. Pay attention to your responses to everything you see. Take notes of things you see that you find yourself responding to. Snap a photo, or actually write it down. "Saw 19th century Currier & Ives print with running horses. Liked the look of the paper and colors: sage green and gray." "Found a folk art Thai dancer. Enjoyed the points and angles of the pose." Part of the fun is in the hunt!
You'll soon find a focus taking shape. Is it a particular type of print you like, or a style of painting? An artistic period or nationality? Is it old or new? Is it 'high art' or 'pop culture' or 'folk art'? Do you find your focus is on a particular sculptural material, like stone, or do you gravitate to images of a certain scene or animal? Whatever your focus is, it represents something important about yourself. Appreciating and collecting art is a way of coming to know your deeper self.
Develop that focus. Keep looking at work you like, and work that is related to it in some way. Find it in real life, on the internet, in books. Take classes in art history, if you want to. You will learn most by simply responding to the artworks. While developing your feeling for art, avoid purchasing any of it just yet. You are developing a deeper relationship to a way of seeing, which some people refer to as 'taste'. In some ways, it's like falling in love. You'll develop confidence in your taste, with the understanding that what you like is appropriate specifically to yourself.
It's time to find artists. Once your artistic taste and your intellectual appreciation are working together, ask yourself who makes the kind of thing you want. You may have a list of styles, or some recommended artists. Connect with individual painters or sculptors at shows, or on the net. Visit studios or art events where you can find them. When you find the right pieces, pay what they're worth. If you're fortunate enough meet the actual person, buy from the artist. This is your chance to get the 'inside scoop' on work you like, and to set up a relationship that can last a lifetime. You'll probably pay less than you might in a gallery, since you're not paying any overhead or dealer percentages.
Buy only pieces that 'speak' to you. Buying pieces of artwork as investments, or because someone else tells you that they're 'good', is something to avoid. Such works will not please you for long, because they will not feed your soul. Only honest appreciation can create the home atmosphere that is right for you.
The first thing, of course, it to figure out what you like. I don't mean what other people like, what a reviewer says is hot, what you think you could sell later for more money... but what you actually like. What do you want on your wall for months and years on end? To contemplate, to enjoy, to rest your eyes on? What expresses...you? Where do you start to build this confidence?
Look at art. That seems simple enough, right? It's pleasurable and interesting to walk in and out of museums and galleries for a look-see. But don't stop there: wander through local art fairs and flea markets, too, because art is where you find it. You just never know what you'll find. Pay attention to your responses to everything you see. Take notes of things you see that you find yourself responding to. Snap a photo, or actually write it down. "Saw 19th century Currier & Ives print with running horses. Liked the look of the paper and colors: sage green and gray." "Found a folk art Thai dancer. Enjoyed the points and angles of the pose." Part of the fun is in the hunt!
You'll soon find a focus taking shape. Is it a particular type of print you like, or a style of painting? An artistic period or nationality? Is it old or new? Is it 'high art' or 'pop culture' or 'folk art'? Do you find your focus is on a particular sculptural material, like stone, or do you gravitate to images of a certain scene or animal? Whatever your focus is, it represents something important about yourself. Appreciating and collecting art is a way of coming to know your deeper self.
Develop that focus. Keep looking at work you like, and work that is related to it in some way. Find it in real life, on the internet, in books. Take classes in art history, if you want to. You will learn most by simply responding to the artworks. While developing your feeling for art, avoid purchasing any of it just yet. You are developing a deeper relationship to a way of seeing, which some people refer to as 'taste'. In some ways, it's like falling in love. You'll develop confidence in your taste, with the understanding that what you like is appropriate specifically to yourself.
It's time to find artists. Once your artistic taste and your intellectual appreciation are working together, ask yourself who makes the kind of thing you want. You may have a list of styles, or some recommended artists. Connect with individual painters or sculptors at shows, or on the net. Visit studios or art events where you can find them. When you find the right pieces, pay what they're worth. If you're fortunate enough meet the actual person, buy from the artist. This is your chance to get the 'inside scoop' on work you like, and to set up a relationship that can last a lifetime. You'll probably pay less than you might in a gallery, since you're not paying any overhead or dealer percentages.
Buy only pieces that 'speak' to you. Buying pieces of artwork as investments, or because someone else tells you that they're 'good', is something to avoid. Such works will not please you for long, because they will not feed your soul. Only honest appreciation can create the home atmosphere that is right for you.
