The way to buy original art online

I have some friends who need to be coaxed into visiting art galleries. Does anyone else feel that way?

zatista.com Xiuyuan Guo "Path"

In the midst of December-Multitasking-Madness I met two friends for coffee and a quick bite at Chelsea Market in Manhattan. Secretly, I wanted to stop into two galleries while in the neighborhood, but I didn’t mention this to my friends in advance because I knew they’d groan. But, once bellies were full of brownies, I innocently asked them to join me while I walked a few blocks to PaceWildenstein to see the David Hockney: Recent Works exhibit. At first my friends said they didn’t want to go, spouting their usual reasons that going into galleries to see exhibits by ‘important artists’ was intimidating and left them feeling like they should have something meaningful to say about the art afterwards. So I promised them that we didn’t have to discuss the artwork, I just wanted their company. A week later I tried this with another friend after lunch uptown. I wanted to see a Gerhard Richter exhibit at Marian Goodman Gallery so I suggested she join me.

zatista.com Mary Lee Bradley "410 Untitled"

In the weeks since then, my friends and I have all agreed we enjoyed those impromptu, no-pressure gallery pit stops.

zatista.com Edward Zelinsky "Pink Landscape"

And to my great pleasure, my friends offered that what they responded to most about the artwork those days was the color.

zatista.com Elizabeth Graeber "Bird"

Indeed, we were all inspired by the profusion of color!

zatista.com Kristina Zallinger "Blue Danube"

What a beautifully simple and completely natural standpoint from which to appreciate original artwork. It’s enough to whet your appetite when it comes to art.

zatista.com Bobbi Heath "Melons"

It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.

Some of my favorite travel photography was created decades ago when the world still seemed a mystery and far away places were truly exotic. But today, air travel, television, and the internet have made even the most foreign scenery somewhat familiar to us.

From Vietnam to Vancouver, while on vacation I take as many snapshots as the next person.

gettyimages.com Brian Lawrence "Statue of Liberty"

But once I’m home loading pictures into iPhoto, I’m often surprised to see that my most interesting images are of the least expected subject matter.

zatista.com Jennifer Childs "Little Italy Remaining"

I like to apply this theory to collecting travel photography as well, in order to curate a compelling group of unique photographic images. You’ll notice in the pair of New York images above – as well as in the pairings of Italy, Greece and beach images below – an obvious image is juxtaposed with something less expected and therefore a bit more enticing.

gettyimages.com Arctic-Images "Leaning tower of Pisa, Tuscany, Italy"

zatista.com "Discussion" by Daniel Grant

For me, the challenge to collecting travel photography is to evoke a sense of a place without falling for the obvious images of that place.

gettyimages.com "Parthenon Facade, Acropolis, Athens, Greece" by Harald Sund

zatista.com "Dock Workers Athens" by Simon MacArthur

Case in point: At the beach house where we stayed during a recent holiday in Florida, I came face to face with a terribly boring group of artworks. These images added next to nothing of interest to the home simply because the subject matter was too similar to what we saw outside during the day. If a person sits poolside every night watching the sunset, why hang a photo of that same sunset in the living room? The redundancy didn’t do much for me.

gettyimages.com "Razorbill" by Guy Edwardes

zatista.com "Fins" by Nick Lavecchia

Take your travel photography collecting to the next level- don’t miss an opportunity to let your original art collection add impact to your surroundings. When it comes to travel photography, go a step beyond clichéd subject matter. Images that maximize intrigue and minimize the obvious will bring you years more enjoyment and may even enhance the mystery of all the places you’ve visited, or dream of visiting one day.

Portraits often depict very powerful people — those who have a lot of control of the world around them. Yet they are still art. What the artist had in mind and what the subject had in mind will never be exactly the same. One example is President Lyndon B. Johnson’s official White House Portrait. Johnson chose Peter Hurd to create his image on canvas for the White House. But when Hurd showed the image to Johnson, he said it was “the ugliest thing I ever saw.” Hurd later gave it to the National Portrait Gallery.

"The ugliest thing I ever saw." -Lyndon B. Johnson

Official White House portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson by Peter Hurd

And then there’s the type of portrait that may not be well-liked in the end due to circumstances entirely beyond the artist’s control. This sculpture portrays the former leggy lady of Victoria’s Secret, Stephanie Seymour. Her husband, Peter Brant, owns it. Soon it may be all he has left of her, as they are getting divorced (messily).

The mounted (simulated) torso of Peter Brant's soon-to-be ex-wife Stephanie Seymour, by Maurizio Cattelan (1 of 3)

Artists creating self-portraits have a better time of it generally (no, we’re not going to get into Van Gogh and his poor old ear, here). Andy Warhol made hundreds of self-portraits during his lifetime. Here’s the last one he made, a few months before his death:

Last Self-Portrait, 1986 Andy Warhol

Frida Kahlo portrayed herself after her divorce from Diego Rivera as two starkly and painfully separate women (that’s a portrait of Diego in the hand of the colorfully dressed Frida):

Painting Title: The Two Fridas 1939 Collection of the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City

The artist Kehinde Wiley has taken classic, famous pieces of European portraiture and replaced the original subject (in this case Napoleon) with young unknown African-American men:

Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005, by Kehinde Wiley (9' x 9')

Bonaparte Crossing the Alps at Grand-Saint-Bernard by Jacques-Louis David 1801 (8.5' x 7.25')

Portraits don’t have to be limited to human beings. Here, one of Zatista’s artists, Sam Dolman, captures a cow pausing between chews of cud:

Suspicious by Sam Dolman

Ben 1, by Rob MacInnis

The photographer Rob MacInnis created a series of images using farm animals:

Cameron, by Rob MacInnis

Keira, by Rob MacInnis

Zatista’s contributing writer Katie Enna sat down with New York based designer Anthony Cochran to discuss some of his favorite art purchases, his insights on buying art online and enhancing beautiful and timeless interiors with art.

What is the first piece of art you ever purchased for yourself?

When I was working as a waiter at Tribeca Grill in the early ‘90s, one of my co-workers, Claude Martz, brought in some drawings he had done of a girlfriend. I thought they looked like Matisse and was so moved, I asked him to do a portrait of me. It only looks a little bit like me but it’s a very simple line drawing and is still one of my favorite pieces today.

Those first few art purchases can sometimes be the most daunting. Do you have advice for those who are starting out?

The first piece of art that you buy should be beautiful to you whether it be comical, clever, crazy, edgy, or cool. Art can and should make a statement, but just remember to ask yourself “Is it necessarily a piece I want to live with for the rest of my life?” When I buy a piece of art, I think, “Is this something I can’t live without?”

What inspires you when you walk into a client’s home? Where do you begin?

I find that most of my clients will at least have one piece of art or furniture that they are emotionally attached to. I’ll usually work from there and try to incorporate the client’s personality into the rest of the room. I often look to him or her directly for inspiration.

Buying online is obviously different from seeing a piece of art and falling in love with it in a gallery. What are your suggestions for those buying online and how did Zatista help you find the right pieces?

I love painting, so I started by choosing a medium. Then I searched by size, and then by price. Then maybe I’ll search for a specific color and work from there. The great thing about Zatista is that they do the looking for you, all the hard work is done.

If you had to decorate an entire room on one color palette what would it be?

Sky.

On Zatista we provide only original, one-of-a-kind pieces that can often require you to buy on an impulse seeing how they may not be around forever.  How do you make sure you don’t miss a great piece?

If you see a piece of art that literally moves you, and you can’t stop thinking about it for three or four hours, it’s probably something that you’ll love forever. I once found a small, Cezanne-like oil painting by Charles Sibley at a flea market. I walked away from it and thought about it all day long. I finally went back and bought it. The painting cost me $600, which was a lot of money for me, and for most people, but it’s one of those pieces that I know I’ll keep forever.

More on Anthony Cochran:

Anthony’s design firm ACD is renowned for sleek yet comfortable interiors. He is also Cofounder and Creative Director of QCollection, a pioneer in high-end, environmentally friendly furniture, fabrics and home accessories.

Prior to QCollection and ACD, Anthony served as Senior Style Editor for Martha Stewart Living and worked with a variety of other influential design firms including Victoria Hagan Interiors, Stephen Mallory Associates and John Saladino Inc.

I don’t care who you are: as a guy, “wine” and “art” are two terms that are likely to give you sweaty palms or even a mild case of the hives. Rumor has it that John Wayne himself was known to wither a bit in the presence of sommeliers and disapproving gallery directors with angular haircuts.

Look for a theme: Zatista.com Petra Simmons "II" $525

The fact of the matter is that you already know what you’re talking about in both areas.  The average guy has been making informed decisions in nuanced, subjective realms (albeit with less pomp and circumstance) his entire life. We all have our favorite bands, authors and sports heroes we’d follow into battle.  And while art is it’s own universe—one that you may only be contemplating for the first time—you can rest assured that just like basically everything else in life, your “taste” can be boiled down to a simple gut reaction.

And run with it: Zatista.com Ann Calfas "parian octopus IV" $550

Looking at a piece of art for the first time is no different than flipping through radio stations, and just as with wine, relying on your own reactions with a little bit of confidence is what’s important. Sure, you can study up and focus on deciphering the cryptograms of terroir and varietals, but what it really comes down to is “what do I like?”

Or match the piece to your place: Zatista.com Brent Schneeman "Zilker, Zilker, Zilker" $400

Don’t trust yourself to make that informed decision?  Well, you should.  After all, who is it that reaches over and turns the dial from Kenny G to John Coltrane?  And who devoured The Old Man and Sea and then bought the cliffs notes to Pride and Prejudice back in college? And while that Prius was the right choice for your transportation needs, you still can’t stop obsessing about that ’82 Land Cruiser, can you?

Or just find something that speaks to you now and will for a long time: Zatista.com Busser Howell "Blue Square" $10,800

Granted, there are a few faux pas (the incorporation of your favorite team’s logo in a painting, dogs playing poker, and any thing that can actually be specifically classified as “Man Art”–even if it’s going in your Man Cave), but they’re as easy to avoid as the pleated jeans in the men’s section.  When it comes down to it, art is about relating universal elements of the human experience, so “I don’t know, I just really liked it” is the perfect justification for almost any purchase.