Norfolk Life | Star Quality

Vote for your food and drink champions

Countryfile’s

Adam Henson Inspired by his farming father

Days out with Dad

Snetterton, East Winch and the Broads

Issue 170 June 2013

It’s the Royal Norfolk Show Meet the faces of the show Join us for a fashion spectacular Sunshine and style – TV’s Alice Piper and Jonathan Wills

On the trail of our best beers

Woodbastwick to Reedham, Beeston, Brancaster, Tivetshall and Besthorpe

Gorgeous gardens Caston, Diss, Gooderstone, Fakenham, Ludham, Norwich, Swannington

£3.55

Art of month

ABOVE:

Lawrence Coulson’s painting Come With Me.

Star quality Not everyone can afford to buy a masterpiece by Van Gogh or Picasso, but there are other, more accessible, ways to start investing in art. Helen Moulton from Castle Galleries in Norwich’s Chapelfield shopping centre, tells us how.

A

rt is beautifully diverse. From subject and composition, to genre and medium, there is such a variety of art available that it is easy to feel a little bit overwhelmed when looking to invest. But there is one golden rule that not only makes buying art simple, but infinitely enjoyable too: Only ever buy art that you love.

Like fashion or music, art falls into many different genres, all of which are subject to varying degrees of popularity, but there are genres which stand the test of time. One such example is landscape art which, thanks to great Romantic painters such as Constable and Turner, has enjoyed huge popularity since the beginning of the 19th century.

Renowned art critic, David Lee offers an insight into just why landscape art has demonstrated such enduring collectability: “Until 1851 in Britain, when for the first time in the history of any country more people lived in cities than on farms, the overwhelming

194 |

EASTERN DAILY PRESS

Norfolk June 2013

majority of us were surrounded by clods, crops and weather. Respect for and contentment with the countryside is deep inside our make-up.”

Norfolk artist Lawrence Coulson has dedicated his life to painting scenes in and around the county and now is recognised as one of the most accomplished landscape painters of our time, drawing comparisons to those Great Masters who defined the genre of landscape art.

David Lee continues: “Lawrence Coulson generously gives us what we like and need; those feelings of solitude and escape in wide open spaces under heavens so high they might reach to the edge of the universe. It is logical, therefore, that his work should win awards from arts bodies and plaudits from enchanted and satisfied collectors.”

Work by cultural icons also often prove to be highly collectable. Ronnie Wood’s extraordinary musical career has sometimes overshadowed his talent

as a visual artist, but as he has become more recognised for his artistic talent, his original works have commanded ever increasing investment. In 2005, one of his works, Beggars’ Banquet, (a portrait of The Rolling Stones) was reportedly acquired by a private collector for one million dollars. Fortunately, much of Ronnie’s work is also available as signed limited edition prints, enabling fans and collectors to still own a valuable piece of his work.

Ronnie Wood is not the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to enjoy enormous success as a visual artist.

While travelling on tour between 1989 and 1992, Bob Dylan created a collection of drawings that were published in a book entitled Drawn Blank. Dylan transformed these drawings using watercolour and gouache to create a collection of expressive and vibrant paintings entitled The Drawn Blank Series. As with Ronnie Wood, a carefully selected collection of Dylan’s paintings

LEFT:

Singer songwriter Bob Dylan.

BELOW: Ronnie Wood, bass guitarist with the Rolling Stones.

LEFT:

Man On A Bridge, painting by Bob Dylan.

BELOW: The Blue Smoke Suite

by Ronnie Wood.

PICTURES: SUPPLIED

are available as signed limited edition art to enable collectors around the world to access his work.

Of course, visiting exhibitions and galleries are great ways to find art by established artists, but works by up-andcoming artists should also be considered.

Investing in art by an artist at the beginning of their career can be very good value for money, and if you fall in love with a piece by a new artist, chances are, other people will too!

The world of art is as complex and diverse as it is fascinating and exciting, but this should not put off would-beinvestors. From established artists and genres, to rising stars of the future, no investment will ever be 100pc risk-free, but if you follow the golden rule of only investing in art you love, the happiness and enjoyment you will gain from your piece of art will ensure your emotional investment is guaranteed. Â? www.castlegalleries.com EASTERN DAILY PRESS

Norfolk June 2013 | 195