A window of opportunity
Trudi Doyle Exhibition Club House Hotel Kilkenny Arts Festival - Friday 9th to Sunday 18th August.
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An
artist has a solitary existence – working alone with their materials -paper, canvas, palette knife, brush, paint etc - from years beginning to years end. Showing work at
exhibition is a welcome change of pace and an opportunity to engage
with people who love and enjoy viewing art.
Now
however, art lovers everywhere find themselves with less disposable
income /discretionary capital to spend on the things they love and
like to collect; artwork , Even people who are not badly effected by
the economy are more hesitant to spend than they once were. This has
not been good for the artist ! Selling artwork isn't easy even
in a healthy economy, at times like this, it can seem almost
impossible. !
As
I prepared for my 28th annual exhibition in Kilkenny arts
festival this year I had to think twice;- was it worthwhile to frame
and hang an exhibition, transport the artwork with all the fetching
and carrying involved then spend ten days driving back and forth to
invigilate ( 80 mile round trip daily ) if the cost of the enterprise
is not likely to be covered by sales of artwork.
I
started my career in the 1980's when adversity was a fact of life and
had to learn how to adjust to prevailing conditions in order to be
successful and survive . I learned then, that in a slow market! the solution is to be
flexible, adjusting prices in the direction of affordability!
Usually
when I broach the topic of lowering artwork prices with other
artists and with art dealers, I'm met with looks of disbelief and
surprise . To me the prevailing belief that art prices can never go
down , only up, seems unrealistic and ridiculously lofty.
After all, art however inspired in content and execution is a
commodity when it is available for sale . Prices go up when money
flows freely and work is in demand ; they go down when money gets
scarce and artists studios, spare rooms, and storage spaces begin to
fill up with unsold artwork. Where do all those lofty intangible
values go when sales slow down ? In the real world , house prices
are down, cars cost less, prices of most things are down
significantly. By lowering my selling prices, the prospect of owning
my artwork becomes more attractive for collectors .
I
don't equate selling prices with my 'value ' or 'worth' as an artist.
If I have a painting priced at €2000, for example, and lower the
price to €1200, it is still the same painting, if I price a
painting which would have been €500 at €300 it's still the same
painting and I'm still the same artist.
"But how do you explain lower prices to people who bought at the top?" you may ask.
Just because my artwork is more affordable today does not mean it won't go right back up in price when the economy recovers. I am responding to collectors who continue to love my art just as much as they did back in the day when they had more money to spend on it. For them it's a window of opportunity, a moment in the continuum of my art career, and it won't last forever.
There's never been a better time to buy my artwork than right now and there may never be again !
---Paintings, prints,cards by Trudi Doyle,exhibition in Gallery upstairs, Club House Hotel. Kilkenny, (Club House Hotel link )open daily from Friday 9th to Sunday 18th August.
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