Loretta Feeney.com

Are contemporary art auctions good news for living artists?

If I was a professional ballplayer, at my age, I would definitely be retired from hopefully a long career. But I am not. I am a professional artist, just hitting my stride, mid career, in my forties.

There has been a lot of talk about the auction scene on Cape Cod recently, especially about a recent painting at Eldreds Auction House in East Dennis, Ma. A painting had surfaced recently and put up for auction after being in the same family private collection for years. It brought big money and was highly sought after.

And this made me ponder the two small fifteen year old paintings of mine coming up for the Contemporary Art Auction there tonight, selling among many of my peers paintings. Artists I have painted with and show with.

I remember a few years back a conversation I had with a gallery sales woman about my paintings beginning to come up on Ebay and other online auction sites. That I was excited about this, and she looked at me funny like do you really think that is a good thing Loretta?

I don’t know if it’s a good thing, it just is.

It means your work is starting to take on a life of its own, away from your studio.

Fine Art changes hands.

Paintings are admired, bought, sold, and even stolen.

Paintings are moved. That is part of what art IS.

And to me it means I have been around long enough and produced enough good work to see my paintings be resold and begin to re-circulate.

But it also means I am beginning to compete with myself, the new paintings against the old paintings.

The paintings that pay my mortgage against the paintings my clients are hoping will now pay their mortgage.

It’s part of the deal.