When you think of art, the first thing that comes to mind is a painting or sculpture. But what about other types of art? There are many ways to be artistic, and just because you can’t paint doesn’t mean you can’t find your form of creativity. Collecting stamps, coins, or antiques could be just as satisfying as collecting art in more traditional forms.
But before we take a look at how one might go about building their collection, let’s talk about why it matters to begin with.
The act of collecting has been shown repeatedly to have benefits for mental health and physical health. It provides an outlet for people who may not be comfortable with standard art forms, and it can help people feel more fulfilled in their day-to-day lives. After all, collecting anything helps build strengths like patience and discipline.
There are different reasons to collect than just improving your overall life satisfaction, but we’re focusing on that for this article. So let’s take a look at four tips you should consider when looking into building your collection:
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Know Your Material
You first need to know what materials make good candidates for collection. Paintings and sculptures are an obvious choice, but not everything has such clear parameters of how best to be collected; there are other factors you should consider beyond whether or not something “retains its value.”
That doesn’t mean that you should go out and purchase the first piece of art that catches your eye, but it’s essential to have some grounding in what you might be interested in. For example, if you’re into modern art, you might want to focus on purchasing pieces from the abstract expressionism movement. Or, if you love pop culture, you can look for autographed memorabilia online to help you find signed novelty items from your pop culture icons and celebrities. The possibilities are endless, and it’s important to find what works for you.
If you don’t know where to start, try researching artists or styles that appeal to you. Not only will this give you a better understanding of what to look for, but it can also help inform your taste as an art collector.
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Have a Purpose
Just like with anything else in life, having a purpose for your collection will make it more fulfilling in the long term. This could be anything from wanting to build a collection around a specific theme or artist to simply wanting to find interesting pieces that match the color scheme of your room.
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Have a Plan
The next thing you should determine is what you want from your collection. This could be anything from not wanting any duplicates (which can become expensive very quickly) or only purchasing items that are artistically relevant to something like finding pieces that reflect where you’re from. It’s essential to have some sort of plan for why and how you’re collecting because it can help keep your focus in check if you know what you want out of your collection in the long term. And even if no one else gets to see your collection, having a plan will make it more fulfilling for yourself when showing off to friends and family.
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Set a Budget
As with anything else in life, it’s important to set a budget for your art collection and stick to it. This doesn’t mean that you can’t splurge every once in a while, but having a set limit in mind will prevent you from overspending on pieces that might not be as valuable down the line. Plus, a certain amount of self-control can help you avoid going over your budget and having to cut back on things you want.
It might be tempting to rush your collection, especially if you have the financial resources to do so. However, rushing will more than likely just end up hurting both yourself and your wallet down the line. So while it’s important not to leave collecting up to fate or let it define who you are as a person, don’t feel pressured to go out and spend thousands on pieces that aren’t right for you.
Remember That Art Doesn’t Define Who You Are
Whether you’re collecting fine art or just something funny, don’t let yourself feel pressured into buying pieces that aren’t right for your collection simply because of who they are attributed to or what other people might think of them. And don’t forget that your art says more about you than it does the artist.