Ok, so original art costs more than the beach print you saw in Kmart last week. And good original art costs a LOT more. So why should we invest in fine art when something cheaper would fill the space on the wall just the same (and even goes with your cushions)?

Because art is not about filling the space on the wall. It is not about decorating, matching colours, or even (necessarily) being beautiful.

Living with original art is like inviting a wildly interesting friend to stay, and they fill the room with their presence. While they cook an amazing dinner for you with stunning fresh produce, they recount tales of fantastic adventures that you can only dream of; they do so with such charisma and wit, that they disarm you and beguile you completely, and you simply don’t want them to leave. There will never be another night like this.

The Kmart print, on the other hand, is a microwave dinner for one. Yes, your belly is full, but you only got dinner, not an entire experience. The nutritional value is questionable, and the satisfaction is meagre and short-lived (soon you’ll be craving ice cream). You might think, “well, that did the job ok”, but you will never say, “wow that was powerful and memorable”.  

The artist must have lived those adventures to be able to share them with you, they need to be vulnerable, generous, and articulate; they must have honed their skills (usually over many years) to engage you so deeply. The artist reaches down into themselves, lays everything on the line, and invites you into their world.

I can’t speak for other artists, but I know that each painting is a monumental project for me, no matter how large or small the final work is. Fleeting ideas are crafted into more cogent concepts and further refined through sketching and planning, sometimes for hours, days, or even weeks before it ‘becomes’ in my mind. Materials are sourced, selected, and prepared precisely for each work. Paint colours, consistencies and media are carefully thought out and mixed individually. Each mark is important. Each brushstroke bears witness to the toil, the practice, and yes, sometimes the doubt and anguish. At the end of it all, after days or weeks, is a story that can’t be told with words, but lives on the canvas – unique, unable to be repeated, not like any other.

Now I should clarify, I also have prints – by artists whose original work was beyond my budget, and I hang them joyfully in my home.

When I can though, I buy original works. They have an inexplicable aura, and I feel far more personally connected to them. I stand in front of them often and simply look. Original works impart humanness to spaces, they inspire unique thought processes, provoke conversations, and spark creativity!

So go on, invite that friend into your home, support an artist (who wants to live in an artless world!?) and buy an original work of art that you love.