norton ash wrote:It's a joke, Willow, but too many people who buy art will match it to the room they might want it for.
It's understandable, only human as far as many people understand art. And I DID hear a similar request at an art fair to a hack watercolourist who appeared quite willing to modify the painting being discussed.
I was going to ask why it's a problem, but it's ridiculous to expect that a finished piece you didn't commission be altered for your preferences. Just... find... one... that already works. That's narcissism, right there--too grandiose to compromise and too stupid to realize that you might have to do some footwork to find it.
There are actually a lot of good reasons to care about color and your room ensemble, though, but IMO if you hang something on a wall it might be better to 'break' the overall design, not complement it, or to complement neglected aspects, like the electrical fixtures or curtain rods or something. And to start, painting is expensive, more than it seems. Light shades need white primer and one or two coats. Dark shades need expensive, heavy shaded primer and multiple coats. Trim takes a long time to paint. A small bungalow or large apartment could easily run >$500 and lots of hours to repaint. So expecting a picture to match...
And there was a sociological survey from years ago that asked 'average' people what could be done to make photograph of something 'artsy' like pebbles or whatever else people use for computer wallpaper now, that they initially said they didn't like, more pleasant. Almost all of them answered to that adding color would work.
I also think you're neglecting the eccentricity of the noveau riche, too. There's a dude in a three-quarters-of-a-million house not all that far from my current abode who has, I am not kidding, giant pterodactyl bronze skulptures on a carosel-like-thing in his backyard. I can't say I blame him but damn. If you handed me a big wad of cash I'd probably use some of the leftovers to buy a still-working Survival Research Industries ("We needed diesel... We would never pay money for products from an evil company like BP. But we do steal them.") flame-throwing machine somewhere outside.
EDIT: I will confess to counselling hackery among artist friends who were desperate for money. One is skilled in academic style, oils, and I had mentioned that 'guardian angels' and Christian-themed kitsch did very well at local arts-and-crafts shows. He knocked a few off and made some quick revenue.
"skilled in... oils" and "quick" are contradictions. But I hate oil paint except as an excuse to buy solvents, because I solvents are so good at so many things. (I do *not* huff them, which may be the only mind-altering substance line I'll draw.) I did like encaustic though, as time-consuming and annoying as it is.
Low commerce, of course, but at the top it's also about fashion and commodity-trading, innit...
It's also about who you know and how much money you can convince your rich parents to give you.