I know most people have entertained the thought of being rich or winning the lottery and with that comes into question just WHAT exactly you’d spend your fortune on. Aside from philanthopic gestures, buying a house, taking care of your family or going on holiday – what else would you REALLY seek out?
Well for me, I would dedicate a decent sum to buying artwork I liked. I’m not comfortable with the notion of people purchasing artwork as a asset. I doubt any artist, for all their creativity, dedication, passion, blood, sweat and tears, would want there art, to merely amount to ‘an investment’. I find that a rather depressing thought if they do.
Art, by its very nature is meant to be seen, experience, enjoyed, disliked and commented upon – not locked up in an attic for 30 years, out of sight, gathering dust in the hope that one day it might be worth a fortune.
It should be purchased (in my mind anyway) on a very simple principle – because you simply like it.
At 27 (and further proof that it is little more than fantasy of mine) I own a ONE single piece of artwork. There has always been rent to pay, bills that add up, dentist visits, food to buy – things which seem that much more important, that spoiling yourself with such a luxury as a piece of art. The value of which, is utterly in your own mind.
But one thing I’ve learned in my 27 years, and can attest to 95% of my decisions being ruled by, is to go with your gut instinct. That very first emotion, that very first thought, more often than not, is the right one. It’s an innate feeling inside, almost like the reassuring words of a friend or supportive family member. At times, that feeling can be mislead and muddied with indecision, but for good or bad, I’m fairly black and white when it comes to first impressions and reacting to how I feel.
I still enjoy looking at the first piece of art I purchased. It serves as a gentle reminder, of my life at that time. I often reflect on all the situations it must have seen unfolding and presided over, always there watching, yet ever silent. It’s a funny little picture, I’m not sure how many of you have seen it, it’s very Tim Burton-esque and when I first saw it, it instantly reminded me of an advert I’d see during my teens called ‘Beware The Judderman’ a take on Jack Frost, to advertise a new alco-pop as they were called at the time.
This chap would appear, as the voice of an elderly lady read out:
‘Beware the Judderman my dear, when the moon is fat. Sharp of tongue and spindle limbed he is, and cunning. With sweetened talk of schnapps and Metz and the deliciousness of Judders – but schnapps though sweet has teeth my dear, and sharpened ones at that.’
I really like it, I think it says a lot about the impact it had on me as a teenager, that I still recollect that advert even today. So I’ve just taken a photo and put this together, the flash makes it a little hard to see the entire picture, so I’ve spliced below for you. Clicking on the image, will take you to (the artist) Nik Markovina’s site.
I’ve had that charcoal picture for around 5 years now, across various houses, walls and situations. And I thought it was about time, that it finally got a companion. I plan on moving soon, having artwork on the walls, will give my new home a greater sense of personality and style. I’m desperately over being surrounded and confined to beige, cream & vanilla.
So you can imagine my delight, when I came across a recent screenprint of Heath Ledger as The Joker, limited to 100 prints and got that feeling again, that instant buzz. I knew I’d found my 2nd piece of artwork, right then and there.
It certainly cost a pretty penny – but I think it will look fantastic framed in the new place, it’s a big image, I’ll take a photo of it when it’s up, I promise 
It’s by an artist who goes by the name of “Pure Evil”. So who exactly IS he? Well this is the description from his official site
“In 1990 PURE EVIL left the Poll Tax Riots of London behind and went to live in California where he spent 10 years ingesting weapons grade psychedelics , thinking about stuff , making electronic music and printing t-shirts . Inspired by skateboard culture and the west coast character graffiti of Twist he returned to London and picked up a spraycan and started painting weird fanged vampire bunnies everywhere.”
You can find out more about the artist and his recent work here.
Each print is marked with an individual thumbprint for authenticty, but will it be worth millions? Will its value stay the same? Who really cares?
I love it.
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