Are there emerging soon to be hot artists selling work on eBay? If so, how can you spot them?
Want to find the next Georgia O’Keffe, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol or Jackson Pollack?  Think of the money made by their early art collectors. Even early art works by living artists like  John Currin, Cindy Sherman and Damien Hirst , all still alive and producing art are enjoying skyrocketing prices for their works.

 Regular Joes and Janes do become wealthy collectors.

      Just this year, a British dentist by the name of Mullish made into ArtReview’s 100 most powerful people in art this year.  Why? Mullish traded his dental services for artwork in the ‘90’s and his patients who included Damien Hirst and Tracy Tracey Emin.

      The very notion that cutting-edge artists, artists who are worth investing in might be selling on eBay is not far fetched. Ebay is cutting edge and the world’s largest marketplace. As such it is a magnet for artistic cutting edge innovators. People who want to get the word out about their new ideas.

      Then there’s the local store owner in the Hamptons who traded with a then unknown artist named Jackson Pollack who wanted to buy food.

      Finally, how about the postal worker and his wife, a homemaker who frequented the openings and studios of unheard of artists in NYC in the 1950’s?  The artists were doing art they called abstract Expressionism and Pop. The paintings were cheap, but affordable for a mere postman.  The postman and his wife ended up with one of the most extensive and important collections of Modern Art for that period.

 Why would a soon to be hot emerging artist be found on eBay?

      Just about every great artist is a great communicator. Contrary to popular myth of the inarticulate artist struggling in a garret, most were and are articulate.  Artists want to communicate and their prime mode is visual.

      The Internet has become the prime mode for visual communication. It surpasses both TV and film for ability to reach more people, and through a web site, that’s communication 24/7.

     Ebay is the world’s largest marketplace.  Without question it is the place to introduce a new product to interested buyers, especially a visual product, such as a painting or print. 

      So, think about it. If you were an emerging artist with a new twist, would you sell on eBay?  Would you want to reach all those pre-selected (because collectors are searching in your listing category) patrons to your art?  

 But, there’s a catch for a collector looking to find the next hot artist.

     There are also artists selling on eBay who offer art that may look great above the sofa, but is not going to catapult the collector to fortune and recognition. This can also be said for many, if not most artists who are currently selling in brick and mortar galleries, too. Many artists create are that is admired and welcomed into homes and places of business, but the value of this art will not appreciate much if any over time. History is littered with the works of artists who were polular in their own time, but never lasted beyond that.

 So, how do you spot an up and coming artist? Someone whose works will appreciate, even appreciate greatly over time?

      Look at history. What are the common denominators for artists whose works are worth a fortune today?

  Lasting, museum quality fine artists always inspires a new view of the world.  Their work is always out standing and unique, thus easily recognized. Great artsists even inspire a new understanding about how to see the world. Any artist worth investing in has a new and unique twist on how to see the world.

Look for someone who’s artwork has an individual look and feel.

    Of course, this meansyou need some familiarity with contemporary and modern art. Also, familiarity with what is popular at the local large frame and art gallery, since many artists are copying what seems to be selling in malls, and tent art shows. So, there are many “knock-off” artists that can be easily spotted.

      Again, an artist’s unique style is key. Think of major artists throughout the history of art. Each has a unique look to their work. So do secondary artists. Stepping back only a tad in time wonderful artists like Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and Stuart Davis, all contemporaries, have unique looks and visions – but nowhere equal to that of Picasso who although he also sold out for cash, had a vision – or artistic visions (he changed over time) that towered above the aforementioned artists.  Dali was their contemporary too.

Look for an artist who is the next step but not derivative.

     There’s a huge difference between being influenced by Van Gogh, Picasso or Warhol and being a Van Gogh, Picasso or Warhol wannabe.

      If the work of an artist looks as if it really could have been painted by a famous artist, it is derivative. Derivative can be decorative but it is not art worth an investment. If you really want something by your favorite famous artists just to decorate your walls, buy a good quality print reproductions of their work. It’s not an investment that will appreciate, but generally, neither is a couch or a coffee table.

Artistic vision usually includes artistic theory and premise.    

     The romantic idea of the inarticulate artist painting away in a garret is cute, but not historic in relation to most great artists. Great artists (let’s just go with the deceased ones) who wrote about and articulated their premise(s) and ideas for why they worked the way they did include, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Van Gogh, Matisse, O’Keefe, Dali, Warhol, Cole, Rembrandt, Gaugain, Cezanne – well, need I continue?

      If an artist seems similar to great artists, yet unique -- different, take a second look!  

Trust yourself and your instincts.

      Don’t be influenced by authorities if it goes against your own gut reaction. Gallery owners, dealers. critics and curators have been mistaken many times as to what artist is worth collecting.

    Some current artists, gallery owners, curators and critics attended universities where they learned “artspeak”.  Artspeak is a way to make it seem as if the Emperor is wearing clothes. If an artist’s stated reason for painting the way they do doesn’t make sense to you, don’t buy it. Don't be intimidated by authorities. Remember, there was a time the authorities of the day would have warned against collecting Van Gogh, Rembrandt  and Pollack.

Artists are born communicators - but all great communicators need to have something really interesting to say.
  
     If an artist writes that they are painting their inner reality, or expressing their inner self or some such idea that’s all about self expression, pass if you are thinking of buying art as an investment. All great artists painted to convey an idea or convey realities, not just to express themselves, explore or discover. By the very nature of the artistic process artists are expressing, exploring and discovering. Ask, what is this artist communicating?

     Not one recognized great artist painted just for the sheer joy (or angst) of self expression. People who really just want to express themselves have best friends, loved ones or psychologists who will listen to them.  Work produced in art therapy is very valid but not as an investment for a buyer.

 Look for a new movement based on artistic theory that draws from the past and creates a new understanding.

      New art movements and new ways of showing reality are hallmarks of people who become recognized as great artists. So far, all new art movements stem from movements in the past in some way.  They are a next step. A really quick and almost too easy example is how Cubism -- trying to show all sides of a thing stems from Impressionism which was a huge leap forward as artists concentrated on painting the light as it hit, contacted and reflects objects (including people’s bodies and faces) rather than concentrating on creating an illusion of the objects.. Showing the reality of the light leads to showing the reality of spatial form and that leads to artists trying to show the expression of an object, person or thing encompassing many of modern and contemporary art movements.

 Finally, always remember Camille Pissarro

      Pissaro is not the best known of the Impressionists. That recognition would probably fall to Monet or Renoir.  Recently many of Pissaro’s works were shown along side Cezanne’s in a well attended show at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art. I attended that show.  Pissaro and Cezanne were contemporaries and friends. Pissaro’s ideas influenced Cezanne, who was hands down the better artist.

      Yet, Pisarro is really the father of Impressionism and hence, modern art. Without Pissaro’s ideas there might not have been a Cezanne, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Picasso, or even Warhol, etc. Pisarro influenced other artists and this makes Pissaro’s work important and very valuable.

      Today there are many artists who paint in an Impressionistic style. Often, it’s called Plein Air, but also artists say they are Impressionists and paint back home in their studios.. Many of them are actually better painters that Pissaro. Still, their works will not be worth anywhere near his and the original Impressionists. They are derivative even if original in image and beautifully painted. The huge and defining difference is that Pissaro was the first. His work and ideas inspired others.

If you can find a contemporary Pisarro, buy his or her art, someone with unique ideas that will inspire others – and those ideas make sense to you – buy that art!

Judy Rey Wasserman is an artist and founder of UnGraven Image, an emerging art movement. Find out more at Judy Rey Wasserman's ABOUT ME eBay page