What are the differences between oil and acrylic paints?

Acrylic paints are water soluble, and dry rather quickly . Oil paints take much longer to fully dry. Oil paints do have a luminous effect, dealing with how light defuses through the medium.

In addition, oil paints tend to involve different techniques from acrylics. It is much easier to blend oils, while acrylics can be layered.

I have never painted before – how do you recommend that I start?

You should start from pencil sketching and shading which will help your hand to get free with the help of strokes and tones and will help to understand light and shade effect, After this charcoal work, then pencil color and then opaque colors will make you comfortable in painting.

Is there a difference between folk artist and naive artist?

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring trades people. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic.

A naive artist can choose any subject. They have had no professional art training. A good example is Grandma Moses.

Can I mix oil and acrylic paints?

Unfortunately, no, you cannot mix both acrylic and oil paints together–their chemical makeup or something doesn’t work well together. Acrylics is a water based paint and Oil is just that it is made with oil, you can use both kinds of paint on one piece, BUT, one must use acrylic first, and then oil–it doesn’t work if you paint with oils first and then lay acrylics on top of that..

HOW DO I START AN ART COLLECTION ?

There are only two rules to start an art collection: (a) Collect what you like (b) Whenever possible, buy the original. Buy and collect only what you like and what interests you and is within your economic means. Although only you know what you really like, a reputable art dealer can advise you as to where, how and how much. If you like the work of a particular artist or a specific kind of prints (like Japanese woodcuts) or drawings (such as figurative drawings), then focus your collection in those areas. However, a lot of excessive attention is often placed on a “focused” collection. A diverse collection may make less sense to some than a focused one, but it only has to make sense to you!.

WHY NOT BUY ONLY FAMOUS ARTISTS ?

you should buy what you like. If you like Picasso’s “Blue Period” paintings, and have the money to afford them when they come on the market, then by all means go for it! And (at least in theory) you’ll have a better overall investment potential if you do). But it’s not very rewarding buying art by famous artist at the expense of giving up the fun of “discovering” a new artist. Also, history consistently proves that “fame” often wanes and causes prices to come crashing down or soar up. One generation’s “in” artist is usually not the next generation’s idea of what’s hot. Critics and museums often have an agenda that they wish to push, and sometimes inflate an artist beyond that artist’s ability to survive the true test of time. Some power-house artists, like Picasso, Rembrandt, Goya and others just go on and on, but others who once were very hot (like many of the 60’s and 70’s artists) implode and are ignored a handful of years later. Who could have predicted just five years ago that Norman Rockwell would be having a retrospective at the Guggenheim? In 1989 an original oil by Scottish painter Jack Vetriano sold for about 300 British pounds. Today, although he is despised by the art critics and the British arts establishment, he is adored by the public and by some very important collectors, and his works, if you are lucky enough to get on the waiting list for one, ranged in the tens of thousands of pounds. Where will he be in 20 years? No one knows. Finally, beware of the word “famous” which in some cases means “good advertising budget.” There are quite a few artists (usually sold through fancy chain galleries) that have the financial backing to take full page ads in many impressive places. A lot of this art is usually of very little value, and most of the time you usually end up with a very expensive, signed reproduction in an even more expensive frame.

HOW DO I KNOW IT IS AUTHENTIC ?

At any point in a work of art’s history, it’s authenticity can come into question. Often, art is accompanied by documentation, commonly known as provenance, that confirms its authenticity. Good provenance leaves no doubt that a work of art is genuine and by the artist whose signature it bears. Unfortunately, numerous forged or otherwise misrepresented works of art are offered for sale with fake or questionable provenance Before bidding on or buying the art, your job is to make sure that any such provenance is correct, legitimate, and does in fact attest to the authorship of the art.
Provenance can take many forms:

• A signed certificate or statement of authenticity from a respected authority or expert on the artist.
• An exhibition or gallery sticker attached to the art.
• A statement, either verbal or written, from the artist.
• An original gallery sales receipt or receipt directly from the artist.
• A film or recording of the artist talking about the art.
• An appraisal from a recognized authority or expert on the artist.
• Names of previous owners of the art.
• Letters or papers from recognized experts or authorities discussing the art.
• Newspaper or magazine articles mentioning or illustrating the art.
• A mention or illustration of the art in a book or exhibit catalog.

WHAT IS A PROVENANCE ?

Research on the history of ownership, or provenance, of works of art has always been an important part of a curator’s work. Museum curators conduct this research to shed light on the historical, social, and economic context in which a work of art was created and collected, as well as on the history of taste.
Art historians have always sought to know the identity of previous owners, but such information is often difficult to establish. When a painting has been owned by a family for several generations there may be no record of sale. Frequently, private collectors prefer to buy and sell works anonymously through dealers or auction houses, whose records may therefore not disclose the true owner.
Moreover, many dealers and auction houses that were active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are no longer in business and their records may have been lost or destroyed. Thus it is rare to find works of art having a complete history of ownership. It is, therefore, important to bear in mind that gaps in provenance do not necessarily indicate that a work was looted or stolen Reconstruction of a complete history of ownership for a given work can be difficult and sometimes impossible. Many records of ownership have been destroyed as a result of natural disasters, man-made disasters such as war, and neglect. Information is sometimes withheld by dealers and auction houses at the request of previous owners who wish to maintain their anonymity. Much archival information remains undiscovered or difficult of access.

IS ART A GOOD FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ?

Art is an asset class by itself, just like say commodities, equities or government bonds. But like antiques, wines, cars, it is not a mainstream asset class, but rather an alternative asset.
Investing in Art can provide a good diversification strategy, once you have set up the foundation of your portfolio using traditional asset classes.
2) Lack of Liquidity: It cannot be readily converted into cash immidiately. Therefore, its best suited for high net worth individuals who have other sources of liquidity or easy access to cash when they need it.
ou will not create a recurring stream of income from this art. You can of course benefit from the appreciation of the value of your Art, but unless you actually cash out of it, this value only exists on paper.
The Art market is not immune from fraud, in fact every year one reads about fakes of even famous artistes.
Transparency: Why does art get priced the way it does? Well, the short answer is its difficult to tell. Sure there are supply and demand issues involved and how popular a certain artist might be. But, because the market is not very deep, i.e., there are not too many buyers and sellers, it is hard to get a good handle on price. As a result, the prices in the art market can be very volatile and unpredictable, exposing you to risk.
Art is a tangible asset. Not only does Art have storage costs associated with it, but you also need to insure it to continue to protect it every year that its value rises. So, the cost of ownership for a work of Art can be more than owning a simple financial asset like shares in a company. So, should I be investing in Art?
Like all things in life, you need to focus on the basics first. You need to walk before you can run. Similarly, when it comes to investing, make sure that you get the basics in your portfolio right before you venture into Art investing.

ARE THERE ANY ART BARGAINS ?

An art bargain happens in one of two ways: (a) The seller and the buyer have widely diverging ideas on the price of the art or (b) You buy a decent, original piece of art from an emerging artist at a substantially lower price that the art could “command” in a better sellers’ market. The true bargains are also when an art connoisseurs, who knows his art well (and prices) and who can recognize originals from fakes, etc. “runs” into a work of art being offered by someone less knowledgeable than him/her, on that particular piece. This would usually happen at auctions, or in galleries where art is re-sold, rather than in galleries where the work of living artists is sold.

WHAT IS A PRINT ?

Print is the most abused term used in the world of art. A true print is something that the artist has created by hand, such as an etching, or a woodcut or a linicut. The point is that the creation process involves the artist in control of what gets created. Everything else is a reproduction

Is there a difference between folk artist and naive artist?

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic.
A naive artist can choose any subject. They have had no professional art training. A good example is Grandma Moses.