Two Hamilton area residents have launched an online art gallery to share their love of art collecting.
FineArtCollector.ca was recently started by Hamilton resident Clayton Kenyon and Brantford’s Mark Skeffington, a Hamilton native, and currently features works by 12 respected Canadian artists.
The website’s philosophy is stated right up front on the homepage: “Original art should be accessible to everyone.”
“Our mission is to make buying original art an easy, affordable and enjoyable experience,” said Skeffington, 51. “Many people are afraid or intimidated by the art world, but they don’t have to be.”
Kenyon, 34, said the two want to use the website to introduce more people to fine art and educate them about the art market. That includes spreading the word that buying an original art work doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
“People can start off with one good piece they really like and gradually add pieces over the years,” Kenyon said. “A well-chosen original art work will also hold its value or increase in value over the years.”
The two collectors stumbled upon each other online while searching for art work to buy.
Both Kenyon and Skeffington had bought and sold art through auction houses, dealers and Internet classifieds. But they saw the need for an alternative, and started talking about creating a user-friendly online art gallery that would stress affordability.
FineArtCollector.ca also features a blog, which will include stories about art collecting, artists, exhibits and art news. The two are also using social media to connect with artists and galleries, and to promote art in general.
The online gallery features historical, contemporary and what they call “value art” — art for $500 or less. The art is diverse in style, medium and subject, with Canadian landscapes, abstracts, a tasteful nude sketch and a portrait.
Seven of the 12 artists featured on FineArtCollector.ca are members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), the country’s most prestigious artist organization: David Blackwood, J.W. Beatty, William Ronald, Tom Roberts, Stanley Cosgrove, Adrian Dingle and Otto Jacobi.
Blackwood, a master printmaker born in Newfoundland, is one of Canada’s most famous artists. His etching called Fire in Indian Bay shows Newfoundlanders standing in boats watching the red sky of a distant fire.
One abstract, called I Dream of the Sea, is by William Ronald, the founder of the Painters Eleven group of painters. Hamilton’s Hortense M. Gordon was also a member.
One landscape is by John William Beatty, who was a friend and influencer of Group of Seven artists, including Tom Thomson. Beatty also taught a generation of famous Canadian painters.
Because the gallery is online only, the two collectors don’t have the expense of running a physical gallery, so they can pass on savings to buyers. The website also publishes its prices upfront, something few art dealers and galleries do.
The current lineup of works cost from $200 for an original watercolour of a loon by native artist Roger Kakepetum to $5,000 for the colourful William Ronald abstract and the David Blackwood etching.
“We’re not really doing this as a business,” said Kenyon. “We’re doing it for the love of art collecting.”
Future plans include using the website to buy art directly from owners and estates, and to take selected consignments at a modest fee.
Visit the site at www.fineartcollector.ca
