Collect the Art You Love

by Lyn StClair

Having just finished hanging the booth at the 1994 Grumbacher Gold Show in Prescott, AZ, I was walking through to have a look at the work of other artists.  One painting stopped me in my tracks…Dan Robinson's "Canyon Lake Nocturne".  It was a small oil painting of a lake South of where I lived in Arizona.  I asked the price and it was more than I could really afford…but I kept thinking about it.  

When awards were handed out, my paintings and drawings had won awards in several mediums…

Dan's "Canyon Lake Nocturne" had won first in Oil and the Grumbacher Gold medal.  

I headed to his booth and asked if the price was still the same…it was…and I bought it.

This was probably not the most practical thing to do as a struggling artist…but, thankfully, sometimes my gut wins out over my pragmatic Scottish side.  

Though I had traded with artists many times, this was the first painting that I bought.

Nearly twenty years later, my treasured "Canyon Lake Nocturne" still hangs prominently in my home.  It is as lovely to me today as it was the first time I saw it and is truly a masterful little jewel of a painting.

When it comes to collecting art...listen to your heart.  If you truly fall in love with a painting...you will always love it.