Buying Art online – with Duane Romanell

Buying art online can be daunting as there are an infinite number of places to search for art and in the current climate many artists have been prompted to set up their own shops or offer work directly to their social media followers.

This of course, is not great news for galleries (with resulting closures of some), but even they have changed their model for selling, finding innovating ways to promote the artists that they represent – with virtual exhibits, openings, etc.

Knowing that many of us would like to buy art but just don’t know where to start, we asked Duane Romanell from Colart NA to give us his thoughts:

The BEST places to buy art? Tough question. It really is quite the personal choice – based on what you like, what moves you.  And that is the great thing about it, yes? Art affects us all in different ways, because it’s created for the masses, but resonates with us as individuals!

Right now, an important place to look would be on Instagram using the search term #ArtistSupportPledge. This is an initiative started by a UK artist, where artists offer selected works for £200 / $200 each. Once someone has purchased £1,000 / $1,000 of their art, they agree to buy another artist’s work for the same amount, continuing the cycle. This has helped many to keep their livelihoods going. You inquire directly with the artist.

 Now, having said that selecting art is a personal choice… below is a “short” list of artists I follow on social media and whose work I greatly admire,  I’ve also added some links to gallery sites that I feel offer a good selection of works, as well.

Look at their work. Check the links in their bio to find out where you can see more and/or buy their art. Explore!

Ryan Crotty: His work looks like it is illuminated from behind, but it isn’t! That is all paint and mediums. He achieves the effect through removing layers to reveal the structure(s) underneath his canvases.

Lauren Marx: She does very intricate watercolor, pen and ink work of mythological creatures, and subjects that represent the cycle of life. I just purchased a piece and it’s breathtaking.

Hanna Lee Joshi: she creates lovely and colorful figurative works, that have a real depth to them through use of gradated tones.

Wendy Letven: She works in paper, metal, plastics and other materials crafting organic forms that play with light and space

Daniel Morowitz: He does very personal work regarding issues of gender and sexual-orientation. Quite provocative and striking.

Laura Payne: She creates work that seems at first to be 3D but are flat surfaces.

Tom Nussbaum: An artist whose work is playful, colorful and mesmerizing, regardless of its scale (he’s done small and large installations).

David Fullarton: David works in mixed media and collage, and he creates some fairly subversive and humorous pieces that reflect daily life.

James Gandy: James is a “drawing machinist” who uses a device to create intricate spiralling patterns.

Christine Romanell: My wife! I would not be a good supporter (or husband) if I did not mention her work, which is based on rotational symmetry and mathematical formulas.

She works mostly in paper now (using Liquitex!) but has done pieces in laser cut wood and plexiglass as well.

And here are a few galleries and communities that feature work by many different artists. – Go to the links in their bio to see much more.

Thinkspace Art: https://www.instagram.com/thinkspace_art/

Spoke Art: https://www.instagram.com/spoke_art/

Station 16: https://www.instagram.com/station16gallery/

Compound Gallery: https://www.instagram.com/thecompoundgallery/

This is an online marketplace for art. You can find everything from Picasso to Banksy, low to high $, but interesting to search through works. https://www.artsy.net

Artfare (a newer site, where you can buy works directly from a curated group of established artists) https://www.artfare.com

Artfinder (currently offering discounts to help artists sell) https://www.artfinder.com/#/

Tiny Showcase (mostly prints of original works) https://www.tinyshowcase.com/

UGallery: https://www.ugallery.com/

Tappan: https://www.tappancollective.com

If you would like to share your thoughts on buying art, please send your suggestions to Irene Rubio.