artists

Fireworks 200x125 — Celebration of Light 2015, Vancouver, wikipedia.org

Global art sales last year reached an all-time high, beating the last record high set in 2007. For the first time, art sales around the world totaled a record €51 billion ($61 billion), according to The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) 2015 Art Market Report. Most of the art sales in 2014 took place in the US (39 percent), China (22 percent) and the UK (22 percent).

What was popular last year? Contemporary and Post War art by far! Defined as art by artists born after 1910, Contemporary and Post War art accounted for 48 percent of global art market sales. Impressionism/Post Impressionism and Old Masters followed at 12 percent and 8 percent respectively.

The domination of Contemporary and Post War art means a lot at Windows to the Divine®. It is our mission to support artists in their vocation. We believe that artists are inspired by the divine, and that they have a special calling to bring beauty into the world, thereby promoting the good—and our world today needs more of the good! Our exhibitions feature art by today’s living artists, supporting them in their divine vocation.

The TEFAF Report also noted that the global market is highly polarized, with a large share of sales by value being dominated by a relatively small number of artists, buyers and sellers. At Windows to the Divine® we aim to change that. The record high in art sales last year was due in part to the growth of online sales, which encouraged more sales of lower priced art. Through our new website and the new online Collectors for Connoisseurship membership program, we are encouraging everyone to love and collect art by enabling relationships between art lovers and artists and promoting connoisseurship and art sales.

We want everyone to be an art collector, regardless of financial means. As Windows to the Divine® expands with our new website and programs, we hope to play a part in making 2015 an even better year for global art market sales.

For more about the TEFAF report click here.

Shannon Robinson is the curator and chairperson of the national exhibition Windows to the Divine and the national plein air event Altitude and Attitude. More about Shannon…

Banner Image Above: Kathy Anderson, Pomegranates, Windows Exhibition 2014 (Private Collection)

En plein air is a French expression that means “in the open air” and is most often used to describe the act of painting outdoors with the artist’s subject in full view. Plein air artists capture the spirit and essence of the outdoors by incorporating natural light, color and movement into their works.

While painting en plein air is a familiar concept today, in the late 19^th century, when Impressionist painters like Monet, Renoir, Pissaro, Cezanne and Van Gogh ventured outside to investigate and capture the effects of sunlight on a subject of nature, especially at different times of the day, the idea was revolutionary.

Don’t Miss the 4th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo in Monterrey, CA from April 13-17, 2015.

Today there is a great love for plein air painting throughout the U.S., as evidenced by the gathering of 800 artists at Plein Air Magazine’s 4th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo, April 13-17 in Monterey-Carmel, Calif. The four-day event includes presentations on everything plein air—the basics, brushmaking, painting critiques, painting landscapes and, of course, lots of well-known artists painting plein air. Windows to the Divine® founder and director Shannon Robinson will be a presenter at the convention on April 13 at 2:00 pm. Robinson’s presentation will explore the explosion of the global art market and how it impacts artists today.

During the last 20 years we’ve seen a resurgence of interest in plein air painting throughout the U.S., not only from artists but also from collectors. Major events occur each year around the country where art lovers and artists of all levels enjoy the special camaraderie found only at outdoor painting events. Also called Paint Outs, plein air events today attract spectators—there’s just something special about seeing an artist at work outside. Paint Outs give artists a chance to share their talents and creativity with the public and each other.

Windows to the Divine^® has hosted three Plein Art Paint Outs in the Denver area. Shows were held in 2009, 2010 and 2012 at sites of exceptional natural beauty in the Rocky Mountains, at the Denver Botanic Gardens and in Denver’s Washington Park neighborhood.

View photos of Windows Paint Outs:
“Altitude & Attitude” Paint Out 2012
Windows to the Divine® Paint Out 2010
Windows to the Divine® Paint Out 2009

Paint Out 2010_Evergreen _Photo by Jeannie Paty small — Windows to the Divine Plein Air Paint Out 2010, Evergreen, Colo.

Next time you see a work of art depicting a landscape, clouds, flowers, a bird or a tree, picture an artist painting outside—plein air—and imagine the influence of the elements. And know that there are events designed to let you watch! Better yet, attend a plein air event!

Upcoming Plein Air Events in the West

Plein Air Magazine
4th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo
April 13-17, 2015
Monterey-Carmel, CA

Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC)
19th Annual National Juried Exhibition
August 1-30, 2015
Boulder, CO

Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC)
100th Anniversary of Rocky Mountain National Park
September 23-26, 2015
Grand Lake, CO

Plein Air Painters of New Mexico (PAPNM)
New Mexico 2015 Paint Out
May 12-15, 2015
Santa Fe, NM

Post written by Susan Alter Stoveall, a Denver-based marketing consultant specializing in art, museum and nonprofit marketing.

Celebrating the 2014 Global Art Market Record Sales!

Banner Image Above: Kathy Anderson, Pomegranates, Windows Exhibition 2014 (Private Collection)

The Plein Air Experience & 2015 National Plein Air Convention: Connecting Artists with Art Lovers & Collectors

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