Rick Janson Art Studio

Recently attending an on-line workshop with the Artists’ Network in Toronto, there was considerable discussion about marketing our work. If there was a point that needed underlining, it is that artists are not just creators, but we are collectors too. Who loves art more than an artist? By gathering our colleagues within our digital circle it not only serves as a source of support and inspiration, but it may result in some sales too. I have always found group shows to be supportive environments. As artists we all understand the struggle, and we all cheer each other. I have never experienced an unkind word from another artist in such a setting (group crit sessions in university were a bit different).

Over the weekend I picked up a piece by Stephanie MacKendrick I had purchased serveral weeks ago at the Kent Farndale Gallery in Port Perry (detail above, complete painting below). It is usually good etiquette to leave your purchase up for the duration of the show, and then retrieve it afterwards. Some galleries will insist upon it to keep the show whole. MacKendrick shares much of my interest in making observations during her travel, albeit with a slightly more romantic interest that my sometimes quirky takes on my fellow tourists. There was one little painting (12″ x 12″) that depicted the Thames at Richmond. I felt it had not only been well observed, but that it was perhaps her most consistently executed piece in the show. It also had a feeling of serenity. I won’t say what I paid for it, but suffice it to say it was affordable to a retiree on a pension. (You can see more of her work by clicking here.)

After the Artists Network discussion, I was curious about how much work by other artists I actually owned, reluctant to affix the title “collection.” That was what rich people called their haul. Excluding other forms of craft, such as ceramics, I counted 36 pieces by other artists, tallying only those that are originals or signed and numbered print editions made directly by the artist. It sometimes surprises people who visit our home for the first time to realize that the majority of work here is not mine. I’m sure even Picasso wanted to get away from his own work from time to time.

Walking around Art Toronto with its blue chip galleries it is easy to get freaked out by the price tags, although if you look hard enough even there you can find affordable art. When I think about where all this work in our house comes from, it is from a variety of sources. None of it ever broke the bank.

Two of the pieces in the house came from the Art Sales and Rental Gallery at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia — often a great source for first time collectors. The sales and rental galleries of the major art institutions often have rent-to-own options too. One of the two I purchased from the AGNS had been one I almost arranged a swap for while attending Paint The Town in Annapolis Royale. At the time the artist declined, correctly assuming that it was likely a piece to earn her a pay cheque, which it did, albeit from me about a year later. The painting had been on display with one of mine in a storefront as examples of the event’s participating artists’ studio work. The fundraiser was a plein air event where we painted in the streets during the day, then our day’s output was taken to the local gallery for a silent auction in the evening — still wet. One year I was not just a participant, I also was a collector, coming away with a small watercolour that still hangs in our house.

A lot of my pieces have sold at silent auctions raising funds for various causes. In the early 00s I used to participate in The Little Art Show in aid of the Riverdale Art Walk. It was quite the enjoyable and well-attended annual event. While my own efforts found new homes, I also came away with more work than I had brought to the event, enjoying the game of guarding my bids as the clock clicked down . At least four small paintings in the house come from that fundraiser, including one by Kellie Jobson (below), who is a children’s book illustrator and animator. Oddly one small portrait that I had acquired managed to freak out our grandson, who insisted he couldn’t sleep in the same bedroom as that painting. We had to move it each time he came to stay. Somebody told me once that they thought it was based on a photo of Sarah Jessica Parker, although I didn’t know that at the time.

Our travels have been a big source of artwork in our house, from a watercolour we bought on the streets of Rome to a small artists’ intaglio print of Shakespeare and Company in Paris. There is also an acrylic street scene from Cuba and a pastel from Arizona, that turned out to be of buttes in Idaho. In the dining room there is a larger oil painting and another artists’ print from Maine. In our kitchen is one of Sa Boothroyd’s funny artist prints about how to make toast. We bought that on Granville Island in Vancouver.

Local Art Association shows are also a source of affordable art. There is a winter scene in the hall we swap out for the Rome watercolour when better weather arrives. That came from an Oshawa Art Association group sale at Camp Samac, which this year is the same weekend as the Scugog Studio Tour, of which I am participating as a guest artist. Heavens! A scheduling conflict! The Camp Samac show is a big annual event in our community. Similarly, the Toronto Outdoor Art Show in front of the iconic Toronto City Hall is a great source, attracting many fantastic emerging artists, some establishing their first sales. I bought a whimsical print by Christopher Hutsul there on one of our trips to the show.

Don’t assume that because something is hanging in a gallery it is unaffordable. I was chuffed to find a watercolour of a swimmer by Monica Forrestall at a gallery on Halifax’s Grafton Street in the 1990s. Forrestall has had a career as a writer-editor south of the border with many well-known magazines both in print and on-line. Her father is the late Tom Forrestall. I still look at that watercolour and it makes me think of summer.

By far the largest number of pieces in the house are from artist Robert Spurll, who I have known since we were teenagers in the east end of Toronto. For years Robert maintained a studio on Kingston Road, where he did a little framing and made a lot of art in various media. At one point Robert was a court illustrator. He once showed me his watercolours of some of the most noteworthy criminal trials in Canadian history. Recently he attended with me the opening of You Be You at the Leslie Grove Gallery, where we encountered Kelly Crowe, a former journalist for CBC’s The National who had worked with Robert during one of these trials. Kelly is now an artist and has a piece in the same Leslie Grove Gallery show. Robert was also a regular at the Outdoor Art Show for many years.

The work by Robert includes a large painting he did of the Beaches at sunrise, framed unusually in olive wood (see below). We did purchase that one, although Robert has been kind to give us a number of pieces that we are happy to show in the house. Having artist friends helps.

Collecting art is not just for the super wealthy. If you look hard enough, you’ll find plenty in your community that is affordable and will likely stick with you through a lifetime. Many patrons who have purchased works by me have given the feedback that the piece actually grows on them over time. It gets better. How many other items in your house can you say that about?

At the beginning of May I will be participating as a guest artist on the aforementioned Scugog Studio Tour. You may have noticed that I have been painting a number of 12″ x 12″ paintings recently. The idea is to make sure there is a sufficient stock of affordable art in my space for the tour. I will also be premiering my first monograph — a book that looks at my art career and contains many colour plates of my work. Hopefully some visitors will come away with both! I am also making arrangements to be able to accept payment by card — credit and debit. See you around the galleries!

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Wow these are great pieces by other artists. Want to see some of mine? Click here. Want to know where to find my work? Click here. And don’t forget to subscribe to this BLOG.