How Low Will You Go? An Open Debate.

I come back only to disappear again. I am back once again like a certain renegade master. If you know it then you will get it.

The usual has happened this week my 'Lists of things to do' have been of truly epic proportions. But the John Flower Bursary is now at an end. I think it was successful as we raised a lot of money. The final figures are not clear yet but I think it must be in the region of £2,000 maybe a bit more.

I would like to thank all of the artists that very kindly donated their work for the exhibition. I hope this is the first of many charity exhibitions that I can help organise.

The winners of the raffle were 1st Prize - Martin Claridge, 2nd Price - Lucy Webb Martin and the 3rd Prize was won by Mike Sharpe.
I hope they all enjoy their new works of art.

The hot topic for today is Mark Harris. He is my next exhibitor and his show is up and looking great. He is taking a novel approach to selling his work. He will be accepting bids and then the highest bidder will get the work. Only reasonable bids will be considered.
His motivation for doing this is the need to make room for new work as he is fast running out of space. He is also keen to get his work out into the world. I applaud his bravery and I hope that people will embrace the idea. Factor in the cost of buying new canvasses and paint and I think that more than justifies his approach.

I have spoken excessively in my blog about the price of art. Would you rather see it go to a good home? Would you rather take it home with you? How much is too little? Is art that doesn't sell anything more than dead money? How much of your own art do you need to be hanging round your house, under the bed, in the garage or in your studio? Does art have a sell by date? What I mean by that is, if you have work knocking around for a few years would it be better to sell it for less? The financial impact that producing the work made has long since past, so is it time to just move on? Also if your work is progressing as it should is your old work now out of context with your new work? Are you saving it all up for your retrospective at the Tate?

I know I am asking a lot of questions but I am hoping to start some healthy debate about the price of art.

I am playing the Devils advocate and I know it. As you rise up though the ranks the more your work will command. Well that is the theory but the recession seems to be having rather different ideas. I am witnessing that people are most comfortable spending below £500. That is not to say that I do not sell work for twice that. I am talking comfort zones.

Please feel free to comment and engage in the debate. I welcome the input of other practitioners.