RSS
Home
When "original art" isn't original at all
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Detail of a typical mass-produced "original" oil painting -- which isn't original at all.
As an artist, I believe that art is for everyone, not just the wealthy few. That's why I've been emphasizing the many opportunities to get real original art at very affordable prices.
I'll continue doing that, but this time out, I'd like to point out one way NOT to buy original art.
Today I've begun seeing splashy TV ads for "Original oil paintings" -- "sofa size" works for $19! Nothing over $59! The same kind of art that sells for hundreds elsewhere! Come on out to the big art sale! You know it's legitimate because they're holding it at several different hotels on Sunday!
If you're thinking of going to this event, there's something you need to know.
While it is possible to get really lovely works of original fine art at very reasonable prices, that's not what's going on at the "Starving Artists Sale." What they're selling is, at best, assembly-line paintings which are produced by the thousands -- one identical painting after another -- over in China.
Yes, I said "assembly line paintings." Here is a great description of how it's done and another article about the damage these faux-originals do to real American artists.
While the assembly-line process does result in an oil painting, it is anything but an original. It is mass-produced just like stereos and microwave ovens, and shipped wholesale like any other piece of merchandise. Your purchase does not support any individual artist anywhere, no matter what the sales ads may want you to believe. And I promise you, these works do not "sell for hundreds" to anyone who knows better. This "art" is absolutely not a bargain; it's just cheap.
If you need some low-cost decor and you like what the Starving Artists Sale has to offer, fair enough -- but do know what you're buying. You can get far better deals from your actual local artists, any day.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
