Article

Rose © Mary Baker, Oil on Paper (private collection)

Why Buy Original Art

Why pay money for an original piece of art work, when you can buy an inexpensive reproduction print?

When it comes right down to it, creating a piece of art is a mystery. No artist, no matter how articulate, can explain why a particular work of art was created. By buying an art work you buy a piece of that mystery and have something that no one else will ever have.

An original piece of art is a passionate creation, which not only reflects the soul of the artist, but your soul as well, because you chose it. Owning a piece of art instead of owning a reproduction, is like having a person who is important in your life actually in the room with you, rather than having a photograph of that person on your desk. It reflects a piece of you that you cherish and want to share with the rest of the world.

For most people if they like a work of art, it is because it profoundly affects them. It reminds them of a time in their lives that was personally moving or important. And the exact same piece of art work will mean totally different things to different people, because every person is unique.

An original piece of art work can inspire lives and has the power to nurture and nourish the spirit.

If you compare a room with bare walls to one with original art work, the room with the original art work will be vibrant and alive. People will want to visit that room, very much the same way they want to visit museums, because the art work touches their soul in a very personal way. It reminds them of their humanity, of their significance in the world, something that is lost is the business of everyday lives.

Original art is inspiring and moving; it helps people get up in the morning, get through that meeting that they just didn't want to go to. It can give people the courage to go on, because it expresses something wonderful and profound about themselves, which they may not be able to articulate. That's why people say, "I don't know why I bought this piece of art, all I know is that I love it!"

© Mary Baker