Ch-ch-ch-changes, try'in to buy the artists changes, it ain't easy in this commercial world, landlords still want cash, and you can't change thaaat. Sorry for the bad Bowie rendition, but I've just been thinking about something that's been discussed at Edward's a number of times in recent months. On occasion the conversation veers towards artists whose style changes throughout their careers and whether that's good or bad and what effect it can have on them financially etc. etc. So, I thought that today I'd show a few works that illustrate the point.

On the one hand take Terry Miura whose 16 x 20, oil on board, "Afterschool" is pictured above. We really love this painting and purchased it just last year from Thomas Reynolds (who was very generous with terms as I bought another painting at the same time), it having been painted in 2004. Just look at the colors of the ground to the viewer's left of the tree. Look at the color of that sky. It just says "Picnic under me. Go ahead, open the good French white.". It's magical. Now compare it to the one below that we purchased at the same time we bought the big Veerakeat in 1999. "Silent Ones", oil on canvas, 40 x 30 was painted by the same man. It too totally captivates us, the person sneaking in the door, the perfect roundness of the light globes, the bright orange of the post, the sheer scale of the building depicted.



It probably won't be surprising to you that Mr. Miura was living in NYC when he painted "Silent Ones" and near Sacramento, CA when he painted "Afterschool". My understanding though, is that neither scene actually exists, they are exocative of his feelings of a place. This is what ties his work together for me, how he feels when he paints (and the obvious skill of course), rather than what he paints.

On the other hand, take the 8 x 10, oil on canvas Veerakeat shown below. It was painted in the same period as the big one pictured last time, but seems almost Villierme-esque, as if he saw some of Mr. Villierme's work and thought, "Hey, that'd be interesting to try". It looks like Villierme, a bit, but in a totally Veerakeat way. We love Veerakeat for his willingness to try things and change. The final painting shown is "Big Blue" which we also like, but do not own. It has a lot of the same energy of his "normal" works, but the blue is something new.

As collector's we buy what we like and I would say that if our experience is any indication, artists should feel comfortable in changing because your collectors will follow you as long as you continue to paint with love and passion and skill. I feel fortunate to have had the ability to purchase different paintings from the same wonderful artists.