Is Contemporary Art a Good Investment?

I often ask myself – is contemporary art a good investment?

In 2006, Christie's sold $4.33 billion worth of art at auction (a 36% increase over the previous year) while Sotheby's 2006 sales total stood at $3.66 billion. While Christie's attributes it's success to forgeing long term relationships with sellers, both Christie's and Sotheby's are benefiting from the growth in wealth creation globally." This is an article taken from the website Fine Art management

Owning an original artwork can give one status. No-one can deny the thrill of investing in your first original artwork and receiving admiring praise from friends and family alike as you sit around your dining room table and gaze at the wonderful portrait glimmering in the romantic candlelight.

Apart from the aesthetic beauty it adds, who knows what that painting you bought from a little -known artist in the 80's is worth today? Equally, there is also increasing interest in art as an investment class including how it behaves compared with financial assets, and what qualities in a work of art are likely to make an emerging artist stand the test of time. Of course, taste in art is personal – one man's meat is another's poison, and how is one to know that the work you have purchased will stand that test.

As a test I have conducted a little research of my own on an artist who was extremely popular in the 70's – Sara Moon. Every second person ( certainly the students I knew) had a Sara Moon poster hanging in their digs. I was not a fan – I thought it was "kitsch" art with little value or appeal but I cannot deny that she was hugely popular. Though I was young then my instincts told me this was not "Art".Some thirty years later, it seems my instincts were correct.
My search today revealed surprising results. First off, Sarah Moon turned out not be a female artist, but a publishing house under the name of Red Baron and then later, Verkerk/Scandecor, a poster and print house. When this house went up in flames most of the posters were destroyed. It seems that no -one has ever come up with an original work because of this and the general opinion is that any prints are only as valuable if they are framed and with the original reference number and date on the back. The opinion seems to be that you may get the value of the frame and not much more!

That said, if you are thinking of investing, you would be wise to invest in an oil painting, acrylic or maybe even a water-color or pastel. There is no doubt as to its originality in this case and it is bound to increase in value over time if it is well- looked after and behind glass if it a water-color.

As always, the question to ask yourself is not "Is this painting a good investment" but "Do I like this painting" or "Do I want to look at this painting more than watch TV " -or- "Do I get a good feeling when I look at this painting?" Like a piece of music, a painting can touch your soul, make your heart sing, your eyes water, take you back to a place you once loved, or forward to one where you would like to be. For these reasons, or any other good ones you can think of – " that portrait reminds me of my beloved friend" – whatever. These are the real reasons for buying art, not some silly popular reasons. Just because everybody else likes that artist and has him/her on their walls is no reason to rush out and buy a poster yourself.

Art is meant to be looked at, not locked away in some bank vault. Buy what you like – there is no better reason than that.

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Kyla Art – Exhibition Gallery Wall 2011

I'm very excited to be launching into 2011 full steam ahead

I have just put up my first exhibition wall for the year, and am very happy with the brightness and colors of my pieces–very hard to miss!!

Will also be having a couple of pieces up in March as well as a new exhibition wall in April.

Watch this space! 2011 has started with a bang for Kyla Art!

Contemporary Art is All Around Us

Quite simply the word Contemporary means of the present period. So a person can probably guess that Contemporary Art simply means art of the present period. The shape, form and indeed the mediums used have changed over the centuries and have allowed artists to express themselves at the time or period in which they either lived or live in.

Contemporary Art refers to art that has been made in our times. It represents such a diverse array of art that one would have a task to describe all forms in one place or web site. Contemporary art has evolved in the past, will evolve in the present time and continue into future art, it is and will be an ever moving form of art.

It was known that during the World Wars contemporary art tended to be more darker and there was an increase in demand for grey and black pastels, pencils and paints. This was obviously people's preception of the world at the time, a more darker place, many more evils than they once believed. Contemporary art allow viewers to see the world through the artist's eyes and gain a new perception of the world they thought they knew so well.
 

As stated before contemporary art does not have to take the form of canvas art or framed art, instead it can take the form of furniture, objects put together and many others. In fact many furniture and clothing designers will take their inspiration from talented artists of the times and sometimes there is a fine line between the two.
 

There is some very useful information at http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign this will get anybody clued up on the world of Contemporary Art, the site is regularly updated and covers contemporary art around the world.
 
So i hope this brief article has shown you that contemporary art is nothing to be afraid of and who knows if you take to drawing or another form of art you could be The Contemporary Artist of our times!<p>

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The Ten Most Common Mistakes New Unsigned Artists Make

Beware…here are 10 common mistakes I have seen new artists make over and over again.

THE TEN MOST COMMON MISTAKES A NEW ARTIST MAKES

1) THEY DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND WHO THE AUDIENCE IS THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO REACH.Can you identify your target market? Do you know their age group? Are they primarily male or female? What artists do they listen to and support? What image should you project to reach this audience?

2) THEY MISS THEIR "ONLY" CHANCE TO MAKE A GREAT "FIRST IMPRESSION". You only get one chance to make a first impression so the one you do make has got it make it count! Don't be impulsive of releasing you're recording, sending it in for evaluation or posting it on the social sites before it is ready.

3) THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO "PULL IT OFF" LIVE. You need to play out live as much as possible – but only when you are truly ready to do so. Nothing will hurt you more than to create excitement in your recordings and then fall on your face in front of expectant fans live.

4) THEY RELY TO HEAVILY ON THE OPINIONS THOSE AROUND THEM. I can't tell you the number of times I have been in preproduction with a band or artist who was trying to make a case for a song to be included on a CD because their aunt, uncle or next door neighbor thought it was a hit. Be especially careful not to make critical decisions based only on comments from adoring friends and family. Undoubtedly they are biased and will have a vested stake in your success.

5) THEY TRY TO LAUNCH WITH TO MANY SONGS. Even thought it's tempting, never give away all of your material at one time. You will be doing extremely well if you perfect three or four songs first. Always lead with your best material but make sure that your direction is cohesive.

6) THEY TRY TO BE COOL AND WRITE OBSCURE LYRICS OR WANDER TO FAR AWAY FROM ACCEPTED SONG STRUCTURE. It used to be very hip to write lyrics that people had to try and figure out by debating them amongst each other but unless you are a "druggie" band or writer re-incarnated from the 70's, it is much better to write you songs in the first person and try as much as possible to pack them with emotion and experiences others have felt and can relate to as well. Also, don't think it's cool to wait forever to get to the chorus or try a one-minute intro or guitar solo. Study pop structure and learn it. You can learn more about this issue at www.musicproshollywood.com.musicproshollywood.com

7) THEY JUMP IN TO SELF-RECORDING THEIR MUSIC WITHOUT ANY RECORDING EXPERIENCE. Obviously, the best option if you can afford it is to use an experienced recording engineer to record and mix your music. This may not be possible and today it is so tempting to make tracks on computers and bang them into a sequencer or hard drive system, put on a vocal, do a quick mix and call it a master. In order for your recordings to be competitive against the big artists that do have the great sounding tracks.

THEY RELEASE VIDEOS OF THEMSELVES BEFORE THEY ARE READY. Again, because the net offers such quick access to social sites, you may be tempted to start posting videos of rehearsals and performances before they are ready to be seen. You must make certain that what you are putting up is doing you justice. Remember, every time you post something or send it to someone you are inviting yourself to be judged.

9) THEY ARE TO ANXIOUS TO SIGN "ANY" CONTRACT. If you sign an agreement too early with a local manager, agent or your bass player's father, you will pay dearly for it later when you need to get out of it in order to sign with real professionals who have the experience, contacts and leverage to make it happen for you. This is not to say that someone with little experience cannot work hard and get you to the top, but to make it as a world-class artist, it will happen faster with a professional team behind you.

10) THEY ARE IN A HURRY TO SIGN WITH A MAJOR. The decision to submit your material to a major is a tempting one and the tendency of many artists is to care more about chasing and getting the "deal" than the financial ramifications of what the deal means in the future after they've signed it. Most artists don't realize the facts until too late,Be smart and polish your "diamond" first, it might be priceless!

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