With fall approaching and many of my readers attending arts and craft shows soon, what better time to break down crafts by medium and learn what other crafters know about their trade. I always feel that an informed consumer is the best consumer. This week I will focus on hand painted crafts.
One thing I look for in a painted item (the design portion, not background), I want to feel the paint caused by brush strokes on the surface. No matter how hard I try, when I am hand painting a design on any medium, it leaves a little bit of the brush stroke behind. When I was exhibiting in a show this past spring, a person approached my booth and ran his hand over my painted items. He smiled and said to me…you painted this by hand didn’t you. He said he could tell because of the brush strokes. He said he was also a painter and gave me his card. I saw his work and was very impressed. Here was yet another “decorative” painter who also looked at hand painted items the way I do. If you pick up a painted craft and it is too smooth to the touch, it probably was manufactured in some far off land like China (I don’t believe they know what is Folk Art or Primitive style painting).
Another thing to look for…picking up two pieces that is the same design. You should be able to tell that they look similar (same design), but one tree may be fatter than the other; the smile and eyes on one face is just a little different… you get the idea. I realize it can be a bit more expensive for an original painted item, but hey, it is an original! Even if the artist/crafter paints 100 of the same design, it is still an original, because they painted each one individually. This is a great way to afford art. So keep that in mind when contemplating purchasing a “hand painted item”. Stop by next week for my next segment.