Feb 7

I’ve been buying watercolor paintings for decorating jobs.  I’ve found some really nice pieces on eBay.  I recently bought a watercolor painting by an artist named Y. Gianni.  The painting was produced in 1890 and depicted an Italian village.  It was very vivid and pleasing to look at.

I was trying to find just the right watercolor painting for a client when I came across one by an artist named William B. Gillette.  The colors were pastel, ranging from soft greens, browns, blues, purples and peach.  The scene was that of a pebble beach and crashing waves.  The hills on one side gave the beach a feeling of privacy.  It really spoke to me and my client loved it.

There was a cabin that I was decorating for a discerning client that needed one more piece of art to complete the look I was going for.  I found a wonderful watercolor painting that fit just right.  It had a lot of mossy green colors and there was a lake with a lake house.  The artist turned out to be Charles Dickens Wader.  He is a well known artist from New York.

I have a client that collects art from Romeo Tabuena.  I was fortunate to find two watercolors that the owners had purchased directly from Tabuena in the fifties when they lived in San Miguel.  The owner settled with me for an even thousand dollars.  My client was thrilled.

A lawyer friend of mine hired me to redecorate his office.  I had a lot of fun putting in things that reflected his interests and tastes.  He loves polo and I found a wonderful watercolor painting of two polo players on horses.  My friend liked the paintings and they have become a conversation piece in the new office.

My friend’s dad liked the office I decorated so much that he commissioned me to redecorate his office.  He is a hunter and I found a really nice watercolor painting of several mallard ducks flying above a marsh.  The painting was done by Jim Killen and he has painted for Ducks Unlimited.  His work is well known and respected.  My friend’s father really liked the find and proudly hung it in his reception area.

I was really unsure where I was going to find suitable art for the program director’s office at a local radio station.  When I went to visit with him for a consultation, his office was absolutely stark.  I like watercolor paintings and that is my first choice for buying art.  I found a fantastic watercolor painting of Bob Marley surrounded by sunflowers.  It was awesome and perfect for this job.

There is a musician that I was working for a couple of years ago that wanted their studio decorated with paintings from the artist Raoul Dufy.  Raoul Dufy made a whole series of paintings called Hommage to Mozart.  I was able to purchase three watercolor paintings in this series.  I have always been on the lookout for more paintings to purchase for this client.

A friend of mine asked me to find a watercolor painting to give to her mother.  I found one by Henry H. Parker that was of cattle in landscape.  The frame was what caught my eye at first because it is heavy gilt.  It would never hang in my house, but it looked great at my friend’s mother’s house.

Feb 7

I have a gallery that a local businessman financed.  He wanted a place on the town square that featured religious paintings.  I’ve been busy buying religious painting for several years.  I have found some very nice pieces and I have a lot of people purchase paintings that I’ve found.

One of my favorite artists is someone that I actually stumbled across when I was buying religious paintings.  He was not famous, but he had some of his pieces at a local show.  I found that he primarily paints and sells his work on the internet.

It is hard to describe all of the feelings that I had when I saw his first piece.  I really liked that he used the scripture Psalm 139:14 and made it gently legible within the layers of fresco colors.  I thought that this was an excellent choice for my gallery.  Buying religious paintings is very rewarding.

When my painting arrived, it was on gallery wrap ¾ inch stretcher frames and was ready to hang.  My patrons came to a private preview of the piece and were so happy with my success at buying religious paintings.  The piece was actually five original canvases, each 15” X 30” with black painted gallery wrap edges so that no frames were needed.

The title of the piece was long, but appropriate.  The title was “I will praise thee for I am fearfully made marvelous are Thy works and that my soul knoweth right well”.  One of my patrons wanted to buy it and hang it in his home.  I had to convince him to let me show it for four months before he did that.  It is hard work finding and buying suitable religious paintings.

In all the time that I’ve spent looking at and buying religious paintings, I am starting to feel like an expert.  I try to find paintings in a variety of mediums to keep the gallery feeling fresh and vibrant.  My favorite religious paintings use fresh earth minerals, pigments, oil glazes and acrylic varnish.

I actually have no preference if an artist signs his canvas or not.  Most of my patrons, however, want their religious paintings signed.  So, when I am buying religious paintings, I try to find ones that the artist signed.

The artist that I decided was my personal favorite uses the lost language of symbolism in his original paintings.  He told me that his religious paintings are inspired by the ancient storytelling frescoes of Pompeii, Italy.  He has a trademark style that he calls Religious Graffiti. 

I get a lot of requests for certain subjects in the religious paintings that I buy.  I have been looking for religious paintings of Mary and Jesus and also painting of Mary and Angel Gabriel.  I have several families that have wanted these classic images in their homes.  I have another family that wants me to find an oil Madonna with Child to hang in her church.

There was one religious painting that I bought that was very sweet.  The image of Our Lady, Jesus and St. Giovannino was very provocative and it hung prominently in the gallery for six months before I let it go.  I get attached to the religious paintings that I buy and then get to view every day.  I have a policy that no painting will leave the walls of the gallery for four months.

My new favorite piece is an abstract triptych that I found while I was in Atlanta buying religious paintings.  The piece was called Guardian Angel and I love it.  My patrons fell in love with it as well.  They have asked me to track down the artist and see if he has anymore religious paintings available.

The only religious paintings that I actually do not buy are ones that reflect the image of Jesus on the cross.  I don’t have a problem with them, some of them are extremely well done and would more than likely sell well, but my investors made it very clear when they financed the gallery that I would not put that image into it.