Do any of you buy art?

[foamy]

Just curious. Every so often, I run across a piece of art that just speaks to me and I've learned the hard way that when I see one of those (and they're rare), it's just best to buy it as I'll probably never see it again and regret not getting it when I had the chance. It's kind of like hearing a song that you really, really like but then never hear it again, 'cause you never got the name or the band.

Granted, I don't have deep pockets for that sort of thing and I don't buy as an investment, no. I buy it because it makes me happy to see it and look at it. Most of the art I have are limited edition serigraphs (silkscreen prints) or old litho's, but I do have a couple/few originals. It seems buying art is one thing—framing it is expensive.

I was just wondering if anyone else bought treats for their eyes and mind.

Actually, I kind of regard rockets as sculpture. I know I delight in shapes, angles and color and am happy to sit and look at them from time to time. Art of a different sort.

[JAL3]

I used to buy lots of sailing ship art. etchings, lithographs, some originals etc. I had a place on the coast where many of them were displayed and I loved wandering around looking at them.

When life changed, I had to sell the place and the art. I messed up with an ebay reseller on a lot of the art. He sold a few but then failed to return most of them. Most that he did return are damaged (he just left a bunch of them on my front porch) I can't track him down and even if I did, I never got a good paper trail.

He did the same thing with most of my old model railroad stuff also.

That was an expensive lesson.

[Fdog]

Work makes my wife & I travel out of the country alot. We make a point of always returning with something from that locale.

..Usually we come back with some great pieces at very reasonable prices, but you're right, getting it mounted and framed is the expensive part....!

All the best, James

[RadManCF]

I'm a big fan of art glass, I did a bit of glass blowing in college, and it's way harder than it looks. And incredibly expensive. I never got to be that good at blown glass, but if I'd had more opportunity I think I could have gotten pretty good at slumped and fused glass (sheets of glass cut into shapes then heated in a kiln allowing them to fuse together). After all that, the fact that art glass is so expensive make perfect sense. The only glass piece that I own, that I didn't make, is a piece I found on a trash pile while working maintenance during college. If I had money for anything other than rockets, I'd own a lot more...

[cwbullet]

No I do not buy art because my kid brings enough home from school.

I have thought about civil war prints.

[foamy]

I used to buy lots of sailing ship art. etchings, lithographs, some originals etc. ...snip

That's interesting. One of my favorite subjects to draw/paint is sailing boats and ships of various sorts (I love sailboats). I think I may have one or two left—most were given to friends and I actually managed to sell one of a Tahitian sailing proa.

Very sorry to hear of that bad exchange with the ebay seller. That's just very low on their part. Very.

Work makes my wife & I travel out of the country alot. We make a point of always returning with something from that locale.

..Usually we come back with some great pieces at very reasonable prices, but you're right, getting it mounted and framed is the expensive part....!

All the best, James

I have a friend who does the same thing and I think it's a great idea. I try and do it as well, but I don't get out of the country much. The only foreign travel I've done is to Canada and some of the islands.

————
I too, have seen some amazing art glass and yes, they have some amazing prices to go with them. I can imagine it being labor intensive.

————
Regarding Civil War prints: I once had to draw and paint a Civil War scene for an employer early in my career. Looking back on it now, it not some of my best work, but I sure enjoyed doing it.

Winslow Homer has some very, very nice Civil War paintings and sketches that he did as a war correspondent/artist during that period. You've probably seen "The Sharp Shooter" at some time. Homer is one of my favorites.

[JNordgren]

Much of the art that I enjoy most would be impossible to get in original, but the wife and I like to get litho's or seri's when we can. We have a lot of van Gogh and Monet prints, and I have a special place in my heart for old travel posters, especially anything by A.M Cassandre.

[JPVegh]

Buy Art what? I spose I'd buy him a cup of coffee or a coke or something.

[cwbullet]

Buy Art what? I spose I'd buy him a cup of coffee or a coke or something.

LOL. I can give him some middle schooler art.

[JStitz]

I'm a big fan of art glass, I did a bit of glass blowing in college, and it's way harder than it looks. And incredibly expensive. I never got to be that good at blown glass, but if I'd had more opportunity I think I could have gotten pretty good at slumped and fused glass (sheets of glass cut into shapes then heated in a kiln allowing them to fuse together). After all that, the fact that art glass is so expensive make perfect sense. The only glass piece that I own, that I didn't make, is a piece I found on a trash pile while working maintenance during college. If I had money for anything other than rockets, I'd own a lot more...

I too LOVE art glass and have toured the Corning Glass Museum ( www.cmog.org/) and had a young girlfriend whom was a glass blower.
before we parted ways she was talking me into making a small furnace or "glory Hole" for molten glass.
Jacksonville University used to let the art department keep the furnaces on,but are now difficult with them due to budget cuts and the freakin high electric bill. I used to love those 7pm calls to come to the studio to Play.
I'm a sucker for "Iradized Glass" which for those that don't know is that metallic looking glass.
Sometimes the color can be silver on the outside of bright red glass..not visible till you look through it or the light shines through it.

[RadManCF]

I too LOVE art glass and have toured the Corning Glass Museum ( www.cmog.org/) and had a young girlfriend whom was a glass blower.
before we parted ways she was talking me into making a small furnace or "glory Hole" for molten glass.
Jacksonville University used to let the art department keep the furnaces on,but are now difficult with them due to budget cuts and the freakin high electric bill. I used to love those 7pm calls to come to the studio to Play.
I'm a sucker for "Iradized Glass" which for those that don't know is that metallic looking glass.
Sometimes the color can be silver on the outside of bright red glass..not visible till you look through it or the light shines through it.

Jeez, not keeping the furnace on 24/7 could be bad! The glass would cool unevenly, causing internal stress in the glass, which could be great enough to make it explode, causing thousands of dollars in damage to the furnace. A chunk of glass equal in size to what a typical studio furnace contains could easily take months to anneal properly. These high energy costs are why art glass programs are so rare at colleges and universities these days. For example, in my corner of the midwest, there is only one art glass program that I know of, at UW River Falls, in western Wisconsin. As far as I know, there is nothing else in Wisconsin, and nothing in Minnesota. Not even at the U of M, or MCAD, the prestigious, exclusive, and expensive art college in Minneapolis. I've heard of one or two colleges offering a basic glass blowing class, but those are geared more towards supporting science programs, that have need for custom glassware.

I'm also a fan of iradized glass. As I understand it, the chemical process there is reduction. This can be achieved quite easily, you just have to starve the piece of oxygen. When it happened to me, it was usually accidental.

[JAL3]

That's interesting. One of my favorite subjects to draw/paint is sailing boats and ships of various sorts (I love sailboats). I think I may have one or two left—most were given to friends and I actually managed to sell one of a Tahitian sailing proa.

Very sorry to hear of that bad exchange with the ebay seller. That's just very low on their part. Very.


I have a friend who does the same thing and I think it's a great idea. I try and do it as well, but I don't get out of the country much. The only foreign travel I've done is to Canada and some of the islands.

————
I too, have seen some amazing art glass and yes, they have some amazing prices to go with them. I can imagine it being labor intensive.

————
Regarding Civil War prints: I once had to draw and paint a Civil War scene for an employer early in my career. Looking back on it now, it not some of my best work, but I sure enjoyed doing it.

Winslow Homer has some very, very nice Civil War paintings and sketches that he did as a war correspondent/artist during that period. You've probably seen "The Sharp Shooter" at some time. Homer is one of my favorites.

I love all ships but the tall ones are my favorites.

I was lucky. My first command is in the attached photo.

For the purists, yes I realize it is not a ship but a barquentine.

[Fred22]

I love all ships but the tall ones are my favorites.

I was lucky. My first command is in the attached photo.

For the purists, yes I realize it is not a ship but a barquentine.

Very cool John.
Cheers
Fred

[foamy]

Much of the art that I enjoy most would be impossible to get in original, but the wife and I like to get litho's or seri's when we can. We have a lot of van Gogh and Monet prints, and I have a special place in my heart for old travel posters, especially anything by A.M Cassandre.

Ah, Cassandre of the famous Dubonnet and Normandie posters. I would like to have had his sensibilities and vision. And speaking of travel posters, I just last week ran across this last week on one of my favorite vintage poster sites—


I'm really liking that. Speaking of ships and travel posters—



This is my attempt at a Classic poster look



And this last one is a poster I did a few years ago—


Cassandre, I am not. I'd been looking for the following poster by Tantin for years and finally got my hands on one last week at an affordable price. It's huge.

[foamy]

I love all ships but the tall ones are my favorites.

I was lucky. My first command is in the attached photo.

For the purists, yes I realize it is not a ship but a barquentine.

You were Captain of the Regina Maris? First command? I want to know more! That must have been a blast—and a big responsibility. I am totally surprised that you can live inland. I can't do it and I'm just a sport/racing sailor. Tell us more!

There are days when I feel like chucking everything and weedling my way on board the Pride of Baltimore.

[JAL3]

You were Captain of the Regina Maris? First command? I want to know more! That must have been a blast—and a big responsibility. I am totally surprised that you can live inland. I can't do it and I'm just a sport/racing sailor. Tell us more!

There are days when I feel like chucking everything and weedling my way on board the Pride of Baltimore.

I started on the Regina as a student and stayed on as crew. I had my navy experience and then experience with the Regina working with physical oceanography and crew (foremast hand, bosun's mate, bosun, etc.) Sadly the old girl got too expensive to operate as a platform for students doing oceanography and a modern sailing vessel was purchased. Briefly, I was captain in a caretaker capacity (I did have my papers). There was not much involved except some shifting about and a short cruise to check out maitainance but, all too briefly, she was mine. I then joined the delivery crew for the replacement, Idus de Marzo. Real life intruded and I went back to school.

[foamy]

I envy you John. That had to have been a great experience. I won't go up a mast now except in a bosun's chair with two halyards on it.

[JAL3]

I envy you John. That had to have been a great experience. I won't go up a mast now except in a bosun's chair with two halyards on it.

It is one of the great memories of my life.

There was nothing in the world like laying aloft on the royal yard. Before my time, she was rigged with a skyscraper and a moonraker. Overdone, yes, but I would have like to have been there!

[foamy]

http://www.flickr.com/groups/reginamaris/

There's one photo in there where she's wearing every stitch of canvas in the book. Literally.

[Zeus-cat]

If I see something I really like I will buy it. However, I prefer to make my own and have several of my paintings hanging up in the living room. I also have a fair amount of stained glass around the house.

[hcmbanjo]

I'm pretty picky about art.
My Mom was a professional fine artist and I spent a lot of time in art galleries growing up.

I started collecting original comic strip art years back.
Originally I was trying to buy strips from the comics page of my hometown paper.
But I ended up buying some comic book art as well.

The Blondie is from 1947 and signed by Chic Young. It was drawn at 2X the final printed size.
The Batman is from one of the first Legends of the Dark Knight comic and inked by John Beatty.

These are two of probably 20 I have in total. I rotate the art bringing out "new" stuff and storing the old.

[foamy]

Hey Chris, you picked a real nice Blondie strip and Batman panel to show. I love the old original inkwork. Classic!

With your mother being a fine artist, I can well imagine the art education you got just from being exposed to it alot. That and you had the perfect person to answer questions. To me, that's valuable—you're lucky.