Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer

How to Add European Style to Your Home

It's time for Americans to step up to what our European friends have known for years:  Real art matters.

Owning real art, as opposed to department store art, is simply how Europeans live life stylishly.  They would no more hang a plastic reproduction of a vase of flowers on their wall than eat a meal without a proper caraffe of red or white wine.

So, how is it that Americans are so satisfied and so willing to settle for hanging a picture that is stamped out by a machine, and duplicated a gazillion times in an "art factory".

Maybe it's because the perception, and the reality has been that real art is expensive, complicated, risky to buy and virtually impossible to understand.

I think we've all had the experience of walking into an art gallery and chatting with a snooty artsy-type who makes us feel stupid and totally intimated by the whole idea of buying real art.

But, whatever the reason that Americans are missing the boat on real art, the good news is that the internet is changing everything.

Like most things in the world, the internet is putting real art right at your fingertips.  Fine artists by the thousands are going online where they can show their work and sell directly to the general public.

In fact, it's estimated that there are currently over 5 million pieces of wall art valued in the billions of dollars displayed on artist and art gallery web sites on the internet.

But, this means that similar to walking into an art gallery, sorting through millions of pieces of art online can be just as confusing and intimidated.

So, a good way to shop for real art is to rely on a curated, online art gallery to pare down your search.  Curated sites sort through millions of pieces of art and read the biographies of thousands of artists to select only the quality and pieces that fit a particular purpose.

When you look for art on the internet you'll agree that there is plenty of art out there that is edgy and creative. But much of what you see is not what you'd want to hang in your living room.

So, if your objective is to find real art to decorate your home or office a curated site like DiscoveredArtists.com a good place to start.

American artist Jared Steinberg was discovered by the website's curator team in early September. Steinberg's original paintings and giclee prints sell for $35 to over $2000. His work is typical of the collector quality art appropriate for home or office decor that is offered exclusively on DiscoveredArtists.com.

Artist Jared Steinberg's description of this painting reads: "Based off Johannes Vermeer's painting, The Geographer I have added my own personal touch with allusions to my story while maintaining much of the context illustrated by Vermeer. This painting is oil on canvas."

The 14" x 18" painting is an original oil on 1" deep gallery wrap canvas priced at $450.  It is signed by the artist and includes a certificate of authenticity with full documentation of its origin.  You can view this painting in Steinberg's gallery at http://www.discoveredartists.com/gallery/JaredSteinberg

Another excellent discovered artist is British born artist Peter Kindred who currently lives and works part of the time in North Wales and also has a home and studio in Southwest France.  Kindred currently has work in his Discovered Artists gallery that sells for $80 to $2900.

Show Girl is an absolutely beautiful piece that is now available as a limited edition print.  In the artist's own words the painting is "Fantasy with incredible sensuality."  The artwork is an exact duplicate of the original oil painting measuring 13.5" x 17.5" and is priced at $130.  See this painting in Kindred's online gallery at http://www.discoveredartists.com/gallery/PeterKindred

Abstract and modern art are very popular for home and office decor.  Florida based Sharon Cummings is an established, abstract artist who has been selling her work online for a number of years. Cummings was one of the first artists to be discovered and invited to post her work to the DiscoveredArtists.com gallery.

Cummings is literally a pioneer of online art sales, filling her gallery with artworks that are easy to understand and offered at excellent value. Spring Divas is representative of Cummings' decorative style.
 
In the artist's own words:  "This beautiful piece is from my popular Labor Of Love Series. Each painting is hand framed in black. They are extremely labor intensive, but the results are just stunning. It has a mosaic appearance. I have used vibrant professional grade paint for your painting. It will arrive READY TO HANG with the sides painted."

Spring Divas is 24" x 20" painted on a deep, gallery wrap canvas priced at $495.  See Cummings' full gallery at http://www.discoveredartists.com/gallery/SharonCummings

These paintings are just a few examples of real art that's available online, and as you can see, if you want to step up to the European standard it's quite easy to do.  Just learn to resist the temptation to buy any old, plastic picture and take the time to shop for real art.  It's never been more affordable and more accessible than it is right now, and it's at your fingertips.

About DiscoveredArtists.com

DiscoveredArtists.com literally searches the world for talented artists who produce collector-quality, decorative art.  The artists range in experience from starting artists to established artists.  But, it's not about the artist ... it's about the artwork and the value to the buyer.

DiscoveredArtists.com's marketing team advises artists on how to display and describe their work, but artists independently set their own prices. Paintings are shipped directly to buyers from the artist's studio, so there is no middle man, gallery markups or handling fees which helps keep prices reasonable.

About the Author

The author is Business Development manager for DiscoveredArtists.com an online marketplace for buying and selling original artwork. She is focused on promoting the use of original and limited edition artwork for home decorating. Mission: Original Art for Everyman !

Jan Vermeer Picture?

i need a picture of Jan (Johannes) Vermeer...or at least a self potrait or something so i can get an idea of what he looks like?

Little is known about Jan Vermeer. A known self-portrait by Vermeer was destroyed in a fire at The Hague in 1696. When he died, he left behind no "papers" to be saved for posterity, and the portrait that was destroyed is the only one. Art historians are debating over an image in a painting of his called The Procuress....they believe that the man in the foreground is Vermeer, that the artist inserted a portrait of himself into the painting.
Here's a link to the work...

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/i/procuress.jpg

(he'd be the blond man)

Johannes Vermeer