Are you a Washington artist that is just starting to get into the business of selling your work? One of the first things that you should do is hire a Washington art lawyer to help represent your interests. It can be hard work getting a business set up to sell your art, especially if you really would prefer to be just making art and let someone else handle the selling of your art.

Here are five reasons you need a Washington art lawyer if you’re going to sell your work in Washington:

1. To protect your designs — If you are an artist that creates original work you need to copyright and in some cases patent your designs to protect them from being copied or stolen. A good Washington art lawyer can help you start the copyright process that you need to go through to fully protect your designs and your artwork.

2. To go after anyone that steals your designs — Usually all it takes to get someone to stop copying your designs if they have started copying your work or your images is a cease and desist letter from a good lawyer. If you have a good Washington art lawyer on retainer you can clear up any problems with people that are copying your work quickly and easily.

3. To help you sell your art — Many artists that deal in high end art have a lawyer that represents them for sales. This make the process of drawing up contracts and completing sales where lots of money changes hands go much more smoothly and it’s expected for high end artists to have their lawyers handle the details of selling the art.

4. To help you get set up to sell your art — If you are setting up a business to sell your art in Washington then a Washington art lawyer can help you fill out the paperwork that you need to file in order to get a seller’s license and complete your tax information so that you can legally sell your art. It’s important to take care of these things before you start to sell your art.

5. To produce legal contracts — If you are having a gallery or an agent sell your art on commission then you will need to have contracts in place that will specify how much of the final sale price you get, what happens to any artwork that doesn’t sell, and other details that come along with having someone else sell your work.

It’s always a good idea to have a Washington art lawyer look over or even draw up the contracts that you plan to use to make sure that the contracts are legally binding and are in your best interests as an artist.

With the festive season round the corner, many of you are probably starting on your gift shopping. If you’re having a hard time deciding on what to buy for your loved ones, why not consider buying art? A beautiful art piece displayed in your friend’s home will not only beautify the place, but also be a nice conversation topic for visitors.

However, buying art for someone else can be quite tricky. The last thing you want happening is to buy something that doesn’t suit the décor of your friend’s house. And your friend might end up quietly putting the art piece away into the store room after a while. You have to make sure that the art piece that you buy must compliment the décor of his home.

Here are some tips to help you make the right buying decisions:

If you have never visited your friend’s home, try to arrange for a meet up, so that you can have a sneak preview of the place. While you are there pay close attention to the decorative theme of the house. Is it modern contemporary, minimalist, or maybe Victorian? Perhaps your friend is well traveled, and has collected antiques from all over the world. Maybe he likes Asian styles, as evidenced by the furniture and decorative ornaments around the house. Pay attention also to the color theme. Are the walls colorful with bright primary colors, or is it in pastel earthy colors? These considerations will affect your decision in the kind of art you will buy.

Location

While you are in the house, identify a wall where you might want the art piece to be hung. It can be quite challenging to find suitable space to hang art – even more so if the wall is already decorated with art pieces. Remember that you don’t have to buy a very large piece that occupies the entire wall. You can have a small art piece that can share the wall space with other pieces that are already there. You just need to pay attention to the theme of those art pieces. For example, if those pieces are black and white pictures of architectural buildings, then you have a pretty good idea on the type of art to buy that will match nicely with the others.

Color

A rule of thumb is to take note of the 2 strongest colors in the room, and then choose art that has those colors in them. For example, if the room has a lot of brown and beige, you can find art that has these 2 colors in them, but it’s ok to have an additional splash of red or yellow in it. After all, you want the art piece to stand out and tell a story, so don’t pick an art piece that blends so well until it becomes un-noticeable.

Take note of other things in the room that may be attention grabbing. For example, if there is a beautiful Persian rug at the center of the room that the owner is very proud of, then choose an art piece with subtler colors than the rug so as not to steal attention away from it. Having a room with rugs, curtains and art pieces all shouting for attention can throw the entire room out of balance.

Style

It is important to find an art piece that will match the décor style of your friend’s home. If the house has a Victorian style to it or has a lot of old antiques, pick an art piece that will match closely with that style. Floral themed paintings or scenes of the countryside can never go wrong. Protect it with an antique styled frame that will add a nice old charmed look. Remember that the frame you choose is also part of the art piece, so do not ignore it. A frame with intricate details and carvings will work nicely with a Victorian or old cottage house.

For a modern home with contemporary styled furniture, you’ll be practically spoilt for choice when it comes to contemporary art. For a room that’s colorful, pick something that’s black and white. For a room that has neutral colors, choose something that will stand out and grab attention. The important thing to note is that you want the art to be noticed. Remember also, that contemporary or abstract art, do not have to mean anything. Different people will interpret it differently. So don’t be too hard on yourself when choosing the right art for your friend.

Size

If you intend to purchase a large art piece, make sure your friend has enough wall space to put it. It may seem common sense, but coming from an interior design point of view, large pieces are more suitable for rooms with a lot of space and have high ceilings. If your friend is living in a small space, then certainly large pieces may not be suitable. In this case, get a smaller piece, or better yet, get a set of small, similar looking themed art pieces that can be grouped together when displayed. On the other hand, if your friend is living in a very large space, buying art that is too small will make it look out of place and out of proportion.

Second only in size to the US market, The UK art and antiques market is worth well over £4 billion a year, and holds a global share of some 26% of the world’s total art sales. In terms of volume, the UK is the largest marketplace for art on the planet.(1). In 2005, the index covering sales of old masters showed growth of 18.8%, while the similar index covering post-war and contemporary art rose 8.3%. Over the past five years, the average annual returns were 3.1% and 17.7% respectively.(2). That’s a better return than investing in stocks and shares.

Buying art can represent a fantastic long-term investment opportunity. In order to help you make an informed decision on the art you buy through The Art Ministry website, we have put together some key considerations to bear in mind when selecting work from our galleries. With over 25 years’ experience in the art market, our team have followed the same steps to ensure all work available in our Online Store is fairly valued.

1. Buy what you like

It’s important to trust your own taste when buying art. Our aim in providing this collection is to offer artwork for every budget that adds interest to your home or office, a talking point that enriches your environment and lifestyle. Great art needn’t be expensive, and buying artwork should primarily be an expression of your own personality. Like stocks and shares, the value of artwork can go up or down, so it’s crucial you buy what you like and can afford. Ultimately the true value of art is in the pleasure or feelings it evokes. The more people that find it appealing the more demand increases, which inevitably increases the value.

2. Do your homework and understand the value of the work

When you view a piece of artwork to buy, pay attention to detail. If you look into the way it has been physically created, how much time it took and the journey the artist went through in producing the piece, you will come to appreciate the skill of the artist and the effort involved in making the work. When it comes to value, don’t be taken in by the medium either. For example, oil paintings are in general more expensive than watercolours, but the latter can require more skill to achieve the desired impression.

The more artwork you look at and the more background information you obtain on various artists and how they work, the more you will learn what you like and why. Comparing the merits of a work with other artist’s work will help you determine the inherent value in any given piece and assist your buying decision. If you want to know what similar work has sold for, use a source like The Art Sales Index, which has catalogued art prices since the 1950’s, or the Mei/Moses Fine Art Index, which tracks various auction price indexes and compares them to the stock exchange to gauge relative performance.

The comparative merits include:

• The artist’s exhibition history
• The nationality of the artist
• What country the artist works in
• The medium the artist uses
• The size and dimensions of the piece
• The price their work has sold for in the past

3. Buy from a reputable dealer

Only buy artwork from a reputable dealer. The best ones will provide extensive background information on the artists in their portfolio, giving details on how they work and what inspires them. Knowing the artist’s passion might also help you find a work that is right for you. Click here to read ‘About the Artists’ at The Art Ministry.

Reputable dealers will also provide a ‘Certificate of Authenticity’ with all original and limited edition artwork sold. This will be signed by the artist and proves the work is 100% genuine and has been accurately valued. These also include the following information:

• The title and visual description of the artwork
• Edition numbers and collection details
• Materials and techniques used
• Size and dimensions of the work
• The copyright holder
• Distributor details
• Release date of the artwork
• Printer’s details if relevant
• Comments from the artist
• Notes on caring for the artwork

Sources:

1. The House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport (Sixth Report)

2. ‘Is it just art, or is it investment?’ by Joe Bolger, Times Online 17th April 2006, quoting figures from the Mei/Moses Fine? Art Index

If you require more assistance with buying art from our website, please to contact us, alternatively, feel free to browse our to view the work of all our artists.