Invest, Support The Arts, And Make Money

by Andrew Lawrence

There are many things you can invest in. Art is one investment that you should consider.

Think about it. Art! Unlike many typical investments, like stocks and bonds, you can actually hang-up this investment on the wall, and enjoy it for a lifetime. It doesn’t have to be stored away, or intangible, or never seen. Art can be a beautiful investment, literally. And, you get to see it, and enjoy it, every day.

In art, there are a number of possible categories to invest in. The major genres include Paintings, Drawings, Photography, and the list goes on.

There are also many investment levels available in art. From the multi-million-dollar collector/museum masterpieces, to your local emerging or established street artist. If you have a lot of money to invest in art, there are many professionals who can help you do that. However, if you have a relatively small amount of investment funds, you may have to handle your art investments yourself.

Here, below, are some good tips and strategies.

Get Involved Early

All or most artists start off as potential emerging artists. If they succeed, and emerge, they are known as established artists. Then, if they succeed greatly, they are known as famous artists or masters. Imagine purchasing an early photograph of Ansel Adams before he became established and famous. Or, imagine purchasing an early Andy Warhol pop art when he was still an unknown graphic artist, and still alive.

Imagine if `you bought the work of those artists early on, in or before the emerging stage of their careers. In the current market, Ansel Adams original photos can sell at from $25,000 to $70,000. Some of the signed Andy Warhol pop art can go for well over a million dollars.

Some emerging artists today are destined to be tomorrow’s Ansel Adams or an Andy Warhol. Or, maybe they will become “just” an established artist whose work brings them a substantial amount of money, plus a nice return on your investment. Find an artist, find them early, and invest!

Start Investing

What’s a good way to start investing in emerging artists? The traditional way is to find an artist whose work you like, and buy a painting, or a photo. Or two, three, or more. Make sure the work is signed by the artist, and authentic. If possible, buy the art directly from the artist, their agent, or a reputable gallery. Then, simply enjoy the art for awhile.

Hang it on the wall of your home, or business. If you buy a few, or many works of art, put the ones you don’t hang-up away in a safe environmentally protected storage facility. You can also rotate the art from your wall to your storage, and vice versa, as often as you like, for more ongoing enjoyment.

Increase The Value

Once you own the art, perhaps you could (or should) promote the artist. You could promote the artist via your social media, your friends and family, and your other contacts, etc. If you do this, be sure to mention that you own some art from this artist. You could create a lot of buzz, and demand for the artist’s work.

In other words, you could tell everyone about the artist, and their artistic work! Hopefully, the value of the artist’s work, that you also own, will go up in value. Therefore, you will be able to sell your purchased art for a bigger profit margin.

Investing in art, is an art! Not only will you be supporting the arts, and enjoying it on the walls of your home, you may also be making a good investment! As with any investment, experts advise you to only use excess money you don’t immediately need, be it a few hundred dollars, a few thousand dollars, or a few million.

Also, as with any risky investment, do not use any money that you can’t afford to lose (rent money, car payment, food money, smartphone payment, child support, healthcare, etc).

There are many different categories of things to invest in. Art is one of those investment categories. It is an artistic investment that you can literally enjoy!

Andrew Lawrence is a former Wall Street investment professional, and money market trader, who today is an artist living and working in Los Angeles, CA. He creates Cool Color Photos, which are presented and sold directly via his online photo art gallery: www.coolcolorphotos.com