ABORIGINAL ART...spending your hard-earned money

www.makingtracks.com.au.....there is a free download Understanding Aboriginal Art on site

Lets face it we don't really need art!!!! we need food in the cupboard, a roof over our heads...the basics, but a painting is really something that we can do without if we have to.

To many a painting is a decorator piece to fit over the couch or fill a blank wall,(I don't have a problem with that)... to others it's a wonderful never ending journey. I've spent a lifetime immersed in art; working in a gallery, running my website, painting, visiting galleries and museums and seeing what others create.... but I must admit I was totally unprepared for the impact that Aboriginal art has had on me, 20 years on the enjoyment and passion hasn't changed, from fantastic works of art to a full-on learning cultural experience.

A lady phoned me the other day interested in investing her superannuation on Aboriginal art, she didn't know anything about it but was willing to invest her hard-earned income because she had read and heard that you can make a lot of money if you're prepared to spend. My advice to her in the first instance was don't spend a cent yet but spend the time in some self education. Know what you're buying and make sure that you also like it.

Of all the investors that I have known the one thing first and foremost that they have in common is passion for this particular artform....absolute passion.....then they spend a lot of time learning about specific artists, areas and backgrounds, they will usually only buy paintings they really love. Probably a lot of these people would dispute that first sentence that I wrote and put art before food!

It can become a real study ... visiting galleries and viewing works learning what prices are being realized etc etc. When there's an art auction going through the catalogue with a fine tooth comb, marking particular works of interest to follow them through. Many people will follow the painting progress of a specific artist; when they are painting their best works, recognize a great work from an average one and of course prices. But, I dont' know any investor who purchases a painting that they don't well and truly love.

In about the early 90's it was normal for a gallery to put in auction works that they couldn't sell in the gallery, now the auction houses have such a hold on the Aboriginal art market that they will visit the gallery and pick and choose what they will sell at auction. Obviously documentation is extremely important. The prices realized at auction will generally be the bench mark for a particular artist. Galleries will often put prices of artists work up after an art auction if they have gone way above what is expected, then that is what that artist's work is now worth.

If you want to learn more about Aboriginal art visit the commercial and state galleries, ask questions, read, listen, talk and educate yourself as much as possible and when you buy a work you will feel confident that it is the right purchase.

I'm going to write a little "most" days on Aboriginal art and culture, such things as what documentation to look for, how to recognize paintings from a specific area, is it art or culture, materials used in painting, a bit about the past the list goes on....please feel free to ask questions or if you want me to touch on a subject concerning Aboriginal art let me know...