Are My Paintings Underpriced??

Peter Doig, one of my favorite artists is a lucky man. He recently sold "Swamped" a 1991 painting for $26 million US at auction! This is one of his many paintings featuring canoes. (See more about Peter Doig in the January 30 2015 post)

Swamped

Modigliani's "Reclining Nude", 1917,  was sold at Christie's  recently  for $170 million. It nearly created a scandal when it was first exhibited in Paris.  It was the second highest price ever achieved at auction for a work of art.

Reclining Nude

Pablo Picasso's "Women of Algiers" of which there are several versions, holds the record for the highest sum ever paid for an artwork at auction. It sold for $179.4 million in May.

Women of Algiers

My thoughts - I will stick to my pricing plan, but consider doing some nudes in a canoe.

A final thought  - An artist asked the gallery owner if there had been any interest in his paintings on display at that time.

"I have good news and bad news," the owner replied. "The good news is that a gentleman enquired about your work and wondered if it would appreciate in value after your death. When I told him it would, he bought all 15 of your paintings."

"That's wonderful," the artist exclaimed. "What's the bad news?"
"The guy was your doctor..."

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I finished the "Swimmer" series

In an older post I talked about a series of narrative paintings in acrylic that I had started. The first of the series was a redo of an old watercolour painting. It's subject had always haunted me. From there I continued to add to the theme, very much influenced by the colours ,mystery and ambiguity of Peter Doig's paintings. After discarding one painting, the tale has now ended at number five.

Steps

The Swimmer

The Plunge

The Boat

Aboard

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Peter Doig and Me

I recently attended a workshop and presentation on the art of Peter Doig. He is a Scottish painter and being Scottish, I like to think we share the same artistic genes , however inactivated mine might be. He has spent time in Canada but now lives in Trinidad. He is one of the most renowned living figurative painters. His painting - "White Canoe", inspired by his time here, sold for $11.3 million.

Many Torontonians recognize his painting of our colourful rainbow tunnel in the Don Valley which sold at auction for $15.5.

 His magic realism and rather mystical figures and landscapes are interesting and create a narrative for the viewer. I am also attracted to his use of colour.

This painting is called "One Hundred Years Ago" and again employs the canoe image, but who is that woman?

"Walking Figure by Pool" leaves the viewers mind free to formulate many scenarios. The colours are pastel, yet rich.

My "brush" with Peter Doig has inspired me to try some mysterious, colourful paintings of my own. This painting is called "Swimmer" and is  a new attempt at an old watercolour that didn''t quite work. This one is acrylic on canvas. I feel I may continue this story with a few more paintings.
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Someone once said: "What other people think of you is none of your business" and "Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does."

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