Last month I posted on my blog about how people are now looking for the best value for their money that they do spend with the economy being the way it is. I'm now happy to see that from what my fellow artists are posting on their blogs, they agree.

  Most artists are deciding to stay positive and focus on improving their product to make it the best value for someone that they can. We realize that people are watching their pennys and want to make sure they don't have any "buyers remorse" after making a purchase.

  I myself when I talk to a prospective collector remind them of two things. You tend to spend the most money in your lifetime on the roof over your head. Oil paintings have a track record of being around for four to five hundred years. Do you think that your house will get passed on through your family that long? Second, most people tend to spend sixteen to thirty thousand or more on a car and we know that whatever model you choose it won't last that long. This tends to put the value of artwork in it's proper context in the person's mind if the artwork is affordable to them.

  One of the most common objections to this from a potential collector is how can you know that your art will last that long? Well to be honest I can't, I can say that I use only lightfast pigments that I know won't fade as these pigments have been used on paintings that are five hundred years old so that can be proved. On the other hand after I hand the painting over to you I have no control over the environment that the painting will hang in. I don't know how long the spray paint I use on the frame will last as the masters didn't have that option (no graffiti in Van Gogh's time!). On the positive I'm sure your great, great, great grandchildren won't have too much trouble having that taken care of with whatever technology is available then.

  So sum up my point today, artists are making sure that their art is of the best value it can be because at the end of the day, that's all we have control over. Take care and I'll see you again this weekend!