Website

Sunday 8 June 2014

Buying a painting







The painting is by a fine artist called Clive Richard Browne (1901-1991) a Norfolk artist whose work is represented  in the National Collection and County Art Galleries. I don't generally buy contemporary works but I do occasionally buy a painting that takes my fancy. The painting above was in my studio and I bought it for £40. It is oil on canvas in a wooden frame app 26in x 20 ins.  The artist is not particularly well known these days and the shabby gilt and plaster frame didn't help it when I bought it from a dealer.

Never the less it is a far better painting than you could get for many times that amount these days. A British Impressionist from the Norfolk School. I bought it because I liked the work. Because it is not very valuable I felt no great shame in taking the frame off it and pressure washing all the plaster and gilt off it and painting it dark brown. 

It could do with a clean and restoring but the cost wouldn't justify it. I have in the past touched up paintings for people. I am not an expert and would n't make a habit of it. Although with all due modesty the matching was pretty good and would have needed an expert to locate it but any good artist is capable of colour matching allowing for drying and underpainting. 

On the other side of the coin I often see complete rubbish being passed off as art at ridiculous prices. (Yes I know that's mostly subjective although with a painting you can be objective about composition, technique, brushwork, colour and finishing). 

So my point is it is possible to pay a fortune for a poor painting or buy an excellent one for very little. 
Price doesn't necessarily guarantee value or quality.
Despite what anyone says art is simple ~ what you see is what you get ~ Buy what you like and what you can live with.

Anyway today I am doing a bit more on Nunney Castle. I couldn't afford to spend this amount of time on all my work but I think this picture justifies it.

PS. if you ever buy a painting look at it in daylight first or at least look at it without a spotlight on it.

No comments:

Post a Comment