Jessica Lloyd Smith, Director at Modern ArtBuyer gives her advice on trusting your instincts when it comes to starting your own art collection.
Everyone has a favourite work of art, a masterpiece that they feel distinctly drawn to. What's yours? Van Gogh's Sunflowers or Cezanne's Mont Sainte-Victoire, perhaps? Maybe you prefer a more contemporary slant – Lucian Freud's portrait of the Queen or Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living better known as a huge shark floating in formaldehyde?
Now think about why you love your favourite piece? All of your reasons for loving it will be entirely irrefutable because art buying is such a subjective thing. Having said that, if you love Damien Hirst's work because it's worth a fortune, then you're not quite on the art lovers' bandwagon yet. Put potential investment to one side and focus on emotional engagement, and you're on the right lines towards understanding why art collecting becomes an obsession for so many people. They buy art that they love. The more pieces they fall in love with the more they develop and understand their personal taste, and the more discerning their favourites list becomes.
With everyone having sound reasons for their taste in art, it's surprising that art galleries seem to be intimidating to so many people. Potential art buyers can become so anxious that the gallery manager might ask them a question about the exhibition or worse still frown upon their choice of artist, that they end up boycotting galleries altogether. It's heart breaking. The thing is, any decent gallery - either physical or online - removes any opportunity for you to 'slip up' and buy a howler of a painting, because they've already curated the collection on show. All of the work has been endorsed by the gallery, so you can follow the mantra of established art collectors and just buy art that you love with confidence.
If you're completely new to art buying and want to start your own collection, it's worth looking at some of the art trails in and around Bath. Larkhall, Newbridge and Widcombe all organise local trails and with Bath being such a hub of creative talent you can find some really interesting work. The artists are usually on hand to answer any questions you have or to talk through their processes in a relaxed, comfortable setting, so it's definitely worth taking the time to visit some of the open houses and studios. The art trails usually take place around May, so keep a look out for those.
Art fairs and large group exhibitions are another great way to see a wide range of styles of art under one roof. The vibrant crowds thwart any intimidating silences, leaving you free to browse anonymously through hundreds of artists' work in an informal environment. The Victoria Art Gallery holds its annual Bath Society of Artists show in April and May while the Affordable Art Fair comes to Bristol in September.
If you're surrounded by bare walls and want to immerse yourself in the established and renowned creative scene in Bath, stick those dates in your diaries now. Remember trust your instincts, focusing on artworks that you feel really drawn to, and you won't go far wrong.
