4th February 2026

 Why we cannot live wothout artChapter
​ 4 ‘Starting a collection’
 
Many times, what started as a singular purchase of a painting you fell in love with, turns into something much more serious and meaningful. The second piece of art that you purchase might become  the foundation a collection. Possessing art can be seductively addictive. It will become much bigger than you thought it could ever imagine. It will overtake your home and sometimes your life. It is something that is very hard to resist once you start. It can become an obsession. It will turn into an exciting venture that can change your whole domain.
‘But I can’t afford to start buying paintings. I’m not that rich. And I don’t have that much space on the walls.’
This is some of the reasoning many of us will rightly come up with. And there are several reasons why we might think that way. To start with there’s what we listen to on the news and social media. We hear of paintings going for millions of pounds or dollars at auction houses. We see the big names like Monet or Picasso being auctioned for hundreds of millions, and immediately think: ‘How can I ever become an art collector?
Well, there are actually millions of other paintings, from millions of other artists that can be found in several galleries, antique emporiums or as I have already mentioned, even at a car boot sale. You don’t have to be a multi-millionaire to start collecting art. And not every piece of art is hyper expensive. I have been in several galleries in London where every painting or sculpture I saw I wouldn’t buy even if I could afford it. But my wife and I have been to smaller galleries and purchased  lovely, fine paintings or sculptures.
So get to know and visit several galleries, either locally or when you’re on holiday. Research these places and see what they offer. Usually their websites will show you the names of the artists they have together with samples of their work and their price. See what arouses in you a desire to own one of those paintings. Then visit the place, already knowing what you expect to see. When you get there, engage in a little chat with the manager or owner of the gallery. They can usually give you a little historical information  about the artist and the piece you have your eye on. That way you’re already getting acquainted not just with the work, but hopefully with the artist himself. Of course, sometimes you can go to an establishment, like an antiques shop and fall in love with a painting which you find is unsigned.
This happened to us a few times now. For example, I had seen a small painting depicting a market flower seller and a woman dressed in black, trying to make up her mind what to purchase from him. I loved the painting and so did my wife. We manged to barter with the owner of the antique shop and brought it home. Even though we want to change the framing, we love it. It tells a story, and it’s painted with beautiful bright colours, as fits the subject. We shall hang it together with the other paintings, and show it off with pride. Oh, and when I took it off the mount-board, to reframe it, there actually was a signature!
Once you get committed about starting a collection, it’s like anything else that you experience in life. Although you might begin with an unassuming work, you soon develop a taste for a better and maybe more well-known artist. That’s when you really start getting serious. Believe me, you will be thinking about getting the next one very soon. Collecting art is like a drug, but a more satisfying and rewarding one.
The pleasure of having art in your home is immeasurable. And everyone who visits will see and share your passion. Your smile will tell them just how proud you are with every painting hanging on your walls, or every sculpture adorning your shelves.
Just remember, it doesn’t have to start big. It will grow by itself, both in monetary value and numerically. And you will amaze yourself after a few years, seeing that what started as a modest purchase, has now become a passion that you can’t get away from. And whenever you look at any of the artwork that has now become a part of your life, you will realise that it has indeed changed the way you look at the rest of the world. I will try to explain. Let’s say you have a painting of a tree. A simple image in watercolours. I can assure you that after you hang that painting on your wall, every time you’re walking in the countryside or come across a tree in one of your walks, you will look at your painting differently. Art makes you stop to not just see the world, but to examine it, to take it in, appreciate that tree better than you have ever done.
I remember in one of my workshops that I held, we covered Abstract painting. Some of my students wanted to paint a country scene. That particular workshop ended up about the power of colour. It started as an abstract, and it could have ended that way. I asked everyone what they thought of it. everyone said an abstract, but they love the colours. But then I continued painting, reefing here and there, but not much. I asked them what they see now. A field of poppies appeared in the midst of a wheat field. Trees started forming from the greens. The blue became a sky.
What I’m trying to say is that when you see life, like a poppy field in the distance, only your mind is telling you it’s a poppy field. But the artist, by putting a few brushstrokes of red paint is telling you what your mind and eyes are seeing. That’s the power of painting. And that is what you come to appreciate the more your collection grows. And besides that, if you’re like me, although I do it also as an artist, you will want to research more art, maybe even buying books on art that will enhance your collection. One thing is for sure, having a relationship with art will enhance and enrich your life.
So whether you get a piece of art to decorate a wall, which can turn into something more considerably significant, enjoy it. Let art enhance your life and those who come to visit your home. Let it put a smile on your face whenever you pass it by. It will become part of who you are, because art; a painting a sculpture or anything else that comes to adorn your home, is more than just an expedient piece of furniture to be used or fill a spot. Art speaks to us like no other object can. Art has always done that and will continue to do so as long as there is someone, an artist, who wants to 

Chapter 3 ‘Old versus new’
 
There are some names in the art world that are revered as geniuses. Old masters, artists with extraordinary talents. The mere mention of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo or Rembrandt, makes you feel reverence, veneration even, towards their names. And quite appropriately too. They were masters of their craft. Any of the main Impressionists, like Monet , Degas or Van Gogh, although he was a post-Impressionist, are among the most loved and talked about artists in the world. Here in England we have names like JMW Turner or John Constable among others. We go and visit the National gallery or Tate Britain just to see their work. They have made a name and an indelible mark on art history.
But when it comes to contemporary artists, many times it’s a different story. Why? Well to start with, a lot of people do not understand or accept that which is new or different. There are many artists that are still producing art in the traditional way, There is nothing wrong with that. It is why you can still go to a gallery and as I said in the previous chapter, purchase a lovely painting of a place you have just visited. But today’s famous art is not made for the same purpose as it was a hundred and fifty years ago. So many of us just don’t like it or assent to it. In fact even some critics deride it as rubbish.
So now I find myself having to hopefully make you think a little differently. The first thing to know is that every ‘contemporary’ period of art had its ridiculers. Second, although we idolise and respect the names of artists like Leonardo, how many artist living in that period never made it, either because they were not given the opportunity or they weren’t good enough? History only remembers the masters, the geniuses and their brilliant work, but forgets all the others who despite working hard with their talent, didn’t quite make the mark.
Another thing to remember as well is that time seems to either play tricks on our minds, or maybe, hopefully, educate them. What do I mean by that? Well, let’s take the Impressionists I just mentioned a couple of paragraphs earlier. Were they immediately accepted as the brilliant artists we respect today? What happened when Claude Monet exhibited what was to become the first Impressionist painting, Impression sunrise? What kind of critique did it receive? I quote: ‘Wall paper in its embryonic state.’ It was actually the art critic Luis Leroy who came up with what was supposed to be a derisory title, Impressionists. Critics felt the painting was unfinished, crude, and technically limited compared to the polished academician art of the time, viewing it as more of a sketch than a mature work. It was only much later that people came to appreciate and admire Monet’s paintings and the style of that group of artists. The term Impressionists was not given as a compliment to those artists, although later they themselves chose to keep it.
It was the same with Pablo Picasso, when he dared to change his style of painting, which as everyone now knows he did several times. A lot of critics did not understand cubism or the way he distorted a woman’s face to depict her portrait. He said his inspiration was Paul Cezanne, who had been experimenting with fragmenting his paintings into different shapes. As with many other things in life, sometimes it takes time and a little understanding and educating, to appreciate certain things, including different art forms.
In New York, in the middle of the twentieth century, a new group came along calling themselves the Abstract Expressionists. They were mostly migrants from Europe who wanted to create something different, something bold. They wanted to get away from the ashes of the Second World War. They sought to paint something that was spontaneous and that would incur emotion to the viewer. They were called the New York School but also nicknamed the Irascibles, as many thought that their paintings grew out of anger. But it was far from it. True, that when you see the paintings of Jackson Pollocks, Willem De Kooning or Joan Mitchell to name a few of the big names, you will at first think that their paintings were done in a petulant hurry. But that is very far from the truth.
There was great thought and feeling put into those paintings. A great deal of energy, yes, but there was also ponderous consideration in their concept, construction and composition. They opened a wide door to many today who are still inspired by the idea of feeling rather than just seeing a work of art. One did not have to see an object, a view, or anything else, but feel the colours, the brushwork and the objective of those, mainly huge, canvases.
So while we still admire the works of the old masters, even if it is for a totally different reason to these afore mentioned artists, we must remember that once the old masters were new and their art was different to the ones considered Old Masters back then. They had their own critics and faultfinders. They were ridiculed both in the journals of the day and also by some of their contemporaries. But one thing remains the same, whatever age the art is, we just cannot live without it. Whether it’s the old paintings, or whether the new, contemporary work that energise us  and gets our emotions going. That’s why we love to visit galleries and museums. We know that we are going to experience something to feed our heart and soul.
And when we can, we want one or more of those images on our walls. Art is in our blood, instinctively. It lives there because we know it makes us feel good. It’s what makes us human. All of us want to relive memories, places we’ve been to, or people we have met along the way. Whether it’s not worth much, or is of great monetary value, we want to have it in our home because we deem it as part of our lives, of who we are, or were, at a certain time or place. It appeals to our sub conscience in a way that few other things can.
Do not ever let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn’t like or purchase in the art you choose to collect, or what is or isn’t valuable. There is another, completely different, reason why you should have art in your home. We shall go through that in the next chapter. But always know and appreciate the first and foremost reason for possessing a piece of art: The joy it gave you when you first saw it and knew you had to have it, to live with it for a very long time. 
Here's chapter two of my article 

                Why we cannot live without art. 
                            Chapter two ‘Custodians of Art’
 
Today we hear of the word Curator when it comes to art exhibitions. There are more Museums, Galleries and Art academies than ever before. In fact never in the history of man has there been such a demand and interest in the art world as now. Although print making started a few centuries back, interest in purchasing and collecting prints has become more popular. Hence if one cannot afford an original work of art, many artists can offer an inexpensive alternative in making a few prints from their original work.
Prints are even being produced from highly sought after and expensive paintings. Even sculpture can now be made into a limited edition that would sell for a fraction of the original. And this is true of several famous and well-known artists as well as others. Usually the prints are also made in a smaller scale to the original painting, so many more home owners can fit them into their houses. Hence art can now be bought and appreciated by more people than ever before.
All of this shows the considerable appetite for owning a piece of art, even if you cannot afford the sometimes extravagant prices of the higher echelon of artists and galleries. Most of us want to be custodians of a piece of art, and who knows, maybe it will impel us to, at some point, start a collection, one piece at a time. Now as an artist myself, I would like to promote living artists. These are the ones who need to be seen and collected most. Contemporary artists are the ones who are sweating blood and tears in their studio to create, to paint, to sculpt to produce new, fresh art and find an exhibition space to show their work.
So I would encourage everyone who covets a piece of art in  their home to first of all look at some of the huge number of artists we can find either in an actual gallery or online. It’s easy enough to do some research on Google to  find quite a number of them. Find out what your tastes are, what you would like to see hanging on your wall or placed on a piece of fine furniture you inherited or purchased. But please, oh please, do not ever think that a painting or a frame has to fit in with your decor, your curtains, or the colour of your walls.
Now liking a painting can be for a few different reasons. Maybe you have just visited a place and fell in love with it. You might have stumbled into the local gallery and spotted a quaint little painting of the place. You think of it hanging on your wall, reminding you of the good time you shared with your loved ones or friends. Through that painting, you can almost relive those times.
Another reason for purchasing art is what it actually made you feel when you first saw it. An old artist friend of mine (he was ninety one at the time we exhibited together at Bournemouth Gardens) used to say to his customers: ‘When you see a painting you like, think of it as love at first sight, you feel you have to have it.’ And many times it worked! My wife and I have purchased quite a few art pieces like that. Whether it was a painting, a ceramic piece or even an arty jug, if we fall in love with the piece, we usually buy it, unless it’s far too expensive as sometimes one’s taste exceeds one’s pocket. But we find there’s always something we both like and able to acquire.
Antique shops or car-boot sales are another source of finding something you might want to bring home. Of course this might be against what I have said in the previous paragraph about buying art from a living artist, but when you purchase something from any of these outlets, you know that that piece has a history and it had already been loved by someone else. Sometimes you are able to get the story behind the work, to which you can now add your own experience.
Unlike money, art has a soul, a story to tell, it has or will have a life that you can share with it. Once it’s in your home, you are not only the curator of it, but the custodian of its very existence. And it’s also very different to any piece of furniture you have. You will develop a relationship with it. You can show it off to visitors, and maybe relate the story or incident behind it. It will enrich your life immeasurably. It is not just another object in your house. It will be a companion that makes it a home.


First of all... A happy New Year to all who viist.
This year I'm going to try to be more active in not only putting more of my work here, but to write my views on art, mine and other art.
The first I have been writing is something that will be useful, not only to artists, but to those purchasing art, or even starting a collection. I will be adding a chapter every week, on  a Saturday.
​      Happy reading 
​                                     Why we cannot live without art
                        Chapter 1 ‘Art has always been’
 
Every form of art has been in existence much longer than any language, kingdom or any other form of communication.
The paintings in the caves of Sulawesi, in Indonesia are over forty five thousand years old. There are paintings like them to be found in other caves around the world, like the ones in the Chauvet caves in France, being around thirty six thousand years old. The fact is that people communicated with art before they could speak a language. As the saying goes: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’
We don’t know exactly when humans started using spoken language to interact with each other, but the oldest written languages were Sumerian, Egyptian and Akkadian. They are all extinct now, but they were only used some five thousand years ago.
Even the hieroglyphical language of the ancient Egyptians are made up of pictures, which goes on to show how important images were in communicating to those ancient people to connect with each other. And that’s besides the monumental sculptures to be found there, which are all depicted with the same images of that particular language. Painting, carving and sculpting are the earliest form of expression known to us.
Another form of art is dancing. Not only has every nation and tribe in existence used this art form to entertain themselves, but also to communicate with their gods. Dancing for rain, to stop some pestilence or just as a social event, throughout the centuries it has been another form of self-expression, to get people together in good and bad times. And with this comes singing. Whether its chanting or singing to a tune.
All forms of art are expressions of our feelings. That is why you see a child dancing, moving rhythmically and singing or humming a tune, before they can speak or walk. At school, the first thing your child brings home is not words, but pictures, even if it is just a print of their own hands.
Art is deeply set in our instinct, in our inner selves, and somehow it has to express itself one way or another. In this way we are all born with the capacity to convey our feelings in some form of artistic manner. And even if, in later life, when we’ve grown up and living gets in the way, those who do not become artists in some form or another, still appreciate a painting, a dance, or a song. It still has the capacity to make us feel good, happy, or even sad at times. Art speaks to our emotions.
Let us go back in history and examine the influence of art in society. Let’s go back to that first world power, Egypt. When we think of that kingdom, two things come to mind; the Pyramids and the Temples inscribed with Hieroglyphs. Would those awesome structures have come about if someone didn’t first make an image of them on some parchment? Would the Pharaohs and the builders know what they were doing if the architects didn’t first of all draw the plans and images of the buildings? Would we know their stories if someone didn’t carve them out in hieroglyphic form, little pictures that was then the language form of that magnificent and powerful kingdom?
Now let’s move forward to religion, the great Cathedrals and Churches of Christendom in particular. How did the church inspire, move and even frighten people into believing, worshipping, and be afraid of displeasing God? Most of the people in the dark and middle ages could not read or write. Literacy was very low and limited to the clergy, and maybe a few elite together with some merchants. So churches were adorned with art. Art to inspire, and at the same time, to frighten the faithful, to keep the congregation loyal and steadfast in their beliefs. Paintings of heaven and hell made sure all those who came to church could see and understand, through the art on the walls, what their Creator is expecting of them. Even the few Bibles and other writings that were produced, had illustrations within them. And most of the time those visuals were more powerful than the text itself.
Even today, whether you are a believer or not, you visit these buildings just to see the paintings on the wall, the magnificent interior carvings in stone and wood. Images of God, Jesus, Mary and other Saints painted and printed to inspire those coveting to attain their Heavenly afterlife. I remember, living in Catholic Malta where everyone seemed to have a picture of Jesus or his mother hanging on the wall, or a Crucifix by the door. I know my mother did.
Throughout history art has always been done for a reason. Whether the motive was to gratify some deity, a political power, fill a space, or simply hang on someone’s wall or cabinet, art can be seen everywhere. The Egyptians made sure that what their artists created demonstrated their divinity on Earth and beyond. The Greeks made statues and images that portrayed either the perfect beauty of their maidens or heroic stances of their champions. Rome, on the other hand, wanted their plebians to feel awe while remaining submissive to the ruling Caeser. All of the above reasons for art were to make the ones commissioning the work look splendiferous, magnificent, as well as perfectly formed.
But at the same timeline as some, if not all of these, there was art being made just to describe everyday people, chores, and lifestyles. The Australian Aboriginal paintings, engravings, sculptures, even weaving with cloth and foliage for example, told stories of the land and the people who toiled the earth to make crops grow. They told stories of their ancestors, families and villages. Different reasons, but still depicted through an art form.
Traditional Japanese art is quite different from all of these. Rather than depicting acts or leaders of power, it celebrates the peace and tranquillity of life. And through the Wabi-Sabi concept, it also celebrates imperfect objects. Unlike the Pharaohs, Romans and Greek motives for art, who wanted to be celebrated as immortals, it honours the transience and impermanence of life in all living things. We might not speak ancient Roman, Latin or Greek, and certainly no ancient Egyptian, but through their art forms they created and left behind, we can visualise and maybe understand them a little better. 


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Writing… creating with words
 
Lately, I have started to put my thoughts into words. So I’ve taken to writing short stories and …very long ones… Novels. I’m happy to say that it’s already proven fruitful as I have had a few of my stories on a local radio podcast and entered a Short Story competition, which has got me short-listed ….yay!!!  I’m now looking for an editor for my novels
I find that putting ideas into words is not that dissimilar to painting really. Just swopping my palette for my laptop. Using words, sentences etc. instead of colours. And having people look at my words and reading them, hopefully with a smile, instead of looking at one of my canvases.
It has given me a new way of expressing myself, which I’m really enjoying and getting into. It’s funny really, as now I find myself not only thinking of how am I going to put whatever I come across into a painting, but also what can I say about it? How can I weave a story around it? I find it as exciting as looking at a blank canvas. Imagining an image in words, rather than paint is different, and yet the same in many ways.
So I will be posting a short story or two in the coming weeks, and hope that they will instil the same feelings that paintings do to the onlooker. I have found that creating with words is an emotional and passionate process. I hope it will be the same for my readers.
John
1/11/2023