Congratulations! You earned it. You have always dreamed of having a piece of art on your wall that signifies who you are. You want to be able to look at it and truly feel that it represents the “real you,” an icon that marks the turning point in your success. The moment you realized that your life would never be the same again. You want to be proud of it and feel like you hit another home run. You have built a legacy by making sound financial decisions; however, your brain is in conflict. You want to buy art that truly represents you, but your brain keeps trying to direct you to make a safe financial decision based on the advice of trusted experts. Why should this decision be any different? Why, because it IS different. Art is not a stock, commodity, or investment property. Art has a heart and a soul. It exists to be a part of you, reflect you, engage you. If it doesn’t do these things for you, it might as well be a stock, commodity, or investment property. The beauty of great art is that you get to “have your cake and eat it too” – something that you enjoy that is also a good investment. It saddens me to see so many people spend a great deal of money buying an impressive piece of art, or accumulate an entire collection, yet don’t feel a strong personal connection to it. It’s not their fault. They did everything right. They consulted the experts and made a solid investment decision. They weren’t wrong, they just didn’t factor in the heart and soul of the matter.

The advice/soul disconnect.

              Art buyers, art critics, galleries, and interior designers are educated people who know and understand art. The advice you receive from these experts appeals to your logical brain and gives you confidence. You go to galleries and studios because you want to buy art. It is logical. While art experts love and appreciate art themselves, when they are talking to you about it, they tend to forget about the importance of personal connection. That part of art that connects with your soul. This is the disconnect. The art game is tough, they have rent to pay, and of course they are trying to make a commission, but more importantly they are trying to connect you with a piece of art they have in their gallery and that can be difficult, especially without asking the right questions. They do want you to be happy, but they are also trying to be effective. They also know that if you walk out that door you are probably never coming back.

              Before you go out shopping, I would suggest that you ask yourself some questions. How do you want the art to make you feel? What are some of your cherished memories? In what places or circumstances have you felt the most complete or happy? The answers to these questions will help you understand what you are really looking for so that when you are presented with a piece of art, you know if there is a connection. You can even provide the seller some specific guidance on what you’re looking for. Many art dealers will have amazing works behind closed doors. They may be less mainstream, but perfect for you. If the art doesn’t connect, it is the wrong piece of art for you, regardless of its’ beauty or value.  

              When I first met Mary, she had a problem. She had purchased many pieces of art that she felt were sound investments, but they gave her the same feeling she had when she bought stock shares or rental properties. She didn’t connect with them emotionally. She told herself always to make good financial decisions, but internally she felt frustrated that she hadn’t achieved a successful art purchase that filled her heart and soul. During our meeting, she started talking about memories that were significant to her and she shared a memory of Alcatraz Island and how impactful that was for her. I helped her locate a piece of art I had depicting a doorway in Alcatraz prison with the Golden Gate bridge in the distance. She connected with it immediately. She could feel it in her soul AND it was a good investment. See, you really can “have your cake and eat it too!”  

You are a savvy professional… until it comes to art.

You enjoy art, but you admittedly don’t know much about it. What you do understand is that art adds to your life in a way that is hard to quantify. When you stop to enjoy it, you are inspired, intrigued, and moved emotionally. You know that it adds value to your life and that’s what matters. The difficulty comes when you decide to have these experiences every day by incorporating art into your home or office.

You get referrals to art galleries and interior designers. The gallery reps are helpful, but they can’t see the whole picture. They tend to focus on the pieces in their collection, forget to consider where the art is going to be displayed, and slip into art jargon that can leave you a little lost unless you have an art history degree. The interior designer is interested in “your space” and wants to help you make it look fantastic, but the art on the wall, the one part of the overall design that can be the greatest expression of who you are, is too often an afterthought. They tend to point you to pieces that complement the overall look of the space, leaving your personal connection to the art as a secondary consideration. You may very well end up with an amazing room, just not a room that feels, well, like you. You need someone who cares about the art AND cares about YOU!

Jen, an entrepreneur chef and non-profit founder who I had been friends with for a while, reacted to an Instagram post of my “Ladder to Nowhere.” Her comment? “I admire all of your work. A lot. (heart emoji) But ya got me on this one. AMAZING. I must have it!” The image had grabbed her attention and began connecting with her in a deep way. She talked about the brokenness, abandonment, and juxtaposition of old and new while also seeing hope for a brighter future all wrapped up in the one image. Her life had not always been easy. She had been through some difficult times yet had great hope for the future. To her, the image spoke to all those things. She felt understood and connected to something outside of herself, almost in a spiritual way.

As our conversation drifted into more practical matters of what and how, her enthusiasm waned. Her bedroom where she wanted to hang the art was suffering from a significant amount of empty wall space. There was one large piece of art on the wall facing her bed, but the other walls either had no art or art that was too small for the space. Adding the new piece would help, but the room would still be incomplete. With her encouragement, I evaluated her situation and devised a plan. I found additional pieces in my collection that would appeal to her and work with her existing art. I presented her with a solution that would solve her empty wall problem and become a deep expression of who she is. The results were transformative! The room has become a true expression of her journey and passions, a veritable “Gallery of Jen.”

 Tell YOUR story.

You feel like you have looked everywhere. You have visited galleries, consulted art dealers, and talked to interior designers. There were some pieces you liked, but none of them resonated with you the way you had hoped. All that time and effort with no results, just frustration. You want a piece of art that reflects who you are and tells your story, but it doesn’t seem to exist. You have asked yourself all the right questions and have a real sense of what you want. So, what do you do? Just like tailors who make custom clothing and architects that design custom homes, there are artists that will create a custom work of art just for you. 

              Robert was at the top of his game. He wasn’t done yet, but he had accomplished most of his lifelong goals and was looking to reconnect with his roots and enjoy the things that he was passionate about. He was very proud of his accomplishments, but he was also deeply humbled by it. Growing up on a farm in central Texas, he knew what it was like to be a dirt poor nobody and he never forgot it. He always joked that it was “better to be lucky than good,” but everyone knew that he had earned it.

              He had been looking for art to go in his new office, but nothing cut it. He wanted something that would represent his success but also be an inspiration to others. Moving the corporate headquarters to a new office building in downtown Dallas was deeply symbolic to him. Yes, he had a spacious corner office with a great view, but it was really about his employees. The new office space meant that his people would have a top-notch facility to come to every day. A place they could feel proud of and call home.

Robert didn’t just want a pretty picture of the building; he wanted an image that captured the essence of what it meant to be there. He viewed his corner office as insignificant compared to the immensity and grandeur of the skyscraper that held the offices where his people served others and made the world a better place for everyone. He called the shots, but he believed his people made it all happen. To others, the photograph might just be a cool shot of a beautiful building from an interesting perspective. To Robert, it embodied his story. I agreed to take on the responsibility of bringing his vision to life and I delivered it.

Owning a fine art photograph that connects with you and reflects your unique vision is what art should be all about. The exclusivity of a fine art image that is created just for you, that no one else will ever own, is a personal achievement that few dare to embrace. It is possible, and even easy, with the right artist championing your cause.

Be a collector first.

When looking for art, decide if the art has value to you first and make sure it matches the price tag or higher. If it does, then you can go to the experts for confirmation. When you buy an investment property you make sure you get a good deal. When you buy your dream home, it’s an emotional decision first, then you look to the appraisal to confirm the market value. If it is higher than expected, that’s great! If it is a little lower, you can still buy. Me personally, I like making the dream decision and love it when the appraisal comes back higher than expected. That is “having your cake and eating it too” and that’s what I try to achieve for everyone I serve. Be a wise and savvy collector but remember that the soul connection is what gives the art life and meaning. Without it, it’s just paper and pigment.

While many may see me as a photographer, my real talent is transforming what is seen in the mind into a visible work of art. As the Affinity Alchemist, I take what appears to be ordinary and translate it into a vision of great value and meaning. You don’t need to hire me or buy art from me to start your successful, and soul enriching journey with art, or to get it back on the right track. You can start today by making sure you are prepared to make the right art choices for you by completing my free art personality assessment. Don’t go art shopping without it!

Please share with the “art-challenged” people in your life. They will thank you for caring enough to talk about “art.” If you are an art buyer, art critic, gallery owner, or interior designer, feel free to hate on me. I will still respect you in the morning.