I get a great sense of satisfaction when a painting connects with someone to find its ideal owner and the place that it was meant to live. When a piece finds the perfect home, it is about more than just helping someone make the right decorating decision. It creates a sense of communication and reaffirms why I love to paint - to share a vision in a way that can hopefully bring something uplifting to other people's lives.
However, I also want to explore this from the collector's perspective. Why does someone purchase a work of art? Is it because it matches the sofa, or is it some other affinity that makes someone want to own a certain piece? From experience I can say that it is almost never a purely decorative decision. While finding a piece for a certain space in a room may be the reason that someone starts the process of searching for the right work, the final choice usually ends up having less to do with a color scheme and more to do with a feeling for the work that makes one want to live in the same space with it. This is because decorative tastes may change over time, but a connection with a work of art can be timeless. That is why we need art and are drawn to it in the first place - to experience a little piece of the mystery that is our collective creative spirit...
Or you can just match the sofa.
Above left: Becoming Sand, mixed media on canvas, in the home of Liz Hartz.
Above: Snow, Wind, mixed media on canvas, in the home of Liz Hartz.
(Liz is an amazing designer who truly understands how to showcase original art in the home. Check out her website.)
Below: Bus Stop Birds, acrylic on canvas, in the home of Fran Stewart.
