Friday 15 May 2015

What am I bid?


When I am Rich, I’d love to have beautiful, original artworks in every room of my house. And perhaps a few sculptures for the garden …

But even if I had £115 million to spare, I wouldn’t be tempted to buy a painting by Picasso, da Vinci, Turner or even my favourite, Van Gogh. I’d rather use my money to support living artists than give it away to secretive collectors, dealers and auction houses.




But, at the risk of being hypocritical, I can’t help wondering how much Christie’s would be able to get for this masterpiece:


Do I hear 50p?



9 comments:

Lynne Hackles said...

You are already rich in talent. What you need to do, and I was told this by an art teacher, is add several noughts onto the price you first put on your painting. That way you'll attract art snobs who go by price and not by picture. I love your sunflowers. You should be proud.

Patsy said...

I was going to say I'd rather have your painting than the Picasso, but if someone was to give me the choice, what I'd do is accept the Picasso, sell it immediately and then buy yours. Even if you follow Lynnes advice, that will still leave me with enough change for lots of other lovely things.

Linda D said...

I'm sure you're right, Lynne. It's a subject that baffles most amateur artists - how do you decide what price to put on your work? I know an artist who sells small, framed watercolours for £20 - £30, which doesn't leave much profit after deducting the cost of materials. People are always telling her she should charge more but she says she'd rather sell a painting to someone who really likes it than have lots of people admire it but decide it's too expensive for them. But she also regularly gets commissions from people who have bought or seen her 'cheap' paintings so she's always busy, and always selling!

Linda D said...

That's very sneaky, Patsy!
Yes, if someone's daft enough to pay that much for a Picasso I'd be happy to sell it!
But my Sunflowers isn't really for sale. It's far from perfect, but I loved doing it so I'll be framing it and keeping it for myself.

Anonymous said...

Your picture is a masterpiece, Linda. That other one is hideous; he must have been high on something, or drunk, or having a laugh.

Linda D said...

Thanks, Susan!

beejay said...

That's a very good painting Linda. Well done. (Just clicked through from Wordpress email - Chrisbjwordsandimages

Julia Thorley said...

Ah, to be a patron of the arts. Love your picture, though, Linda.

Linda D said...

Thanks, Beejay!

You and me both, Julia. The thing that annoys me most about these record prices (apart from thinking what better uses all that money could have been put to) is that the person who actually created the work didn't get a penny of it!