Children are cute -- no mistake about that.

The mistake we do make when it comes to children, however, is assuming that cute is all they are (when they're not being noisy, messy, or . . . childish. It's just as easy to romanticize children as it is to denigrate them).

"Cute" has a tendency to demean the importance of an idea, item, or person, encapsulating their entirety in one word. Kittens are cute, we universally agree; sometimes grown cats are -- but to limit their meaning and personality to sheer cuteness is to overlook the depth of what they are. (Tiger cubs, for example, are cute -- from a distance. Those who see them as nothing more will be in for a surprise if they get too close.)

Why Are We to Become Like Children?

As with tiger cubs, children embody a deeper sense of meaning and personality than we are prone to give them -- it is not for nothing that Christ advised His disciples to strive to be like children. Why would He say this?

The answer lies in being with children, watching them, listening what they say to us directly and to themselves as they're playing. Children, especially very young ones who have not been exposed to the schoolyard and to too much movie, TV, and social media, are uncomplicated, naturally living the simple life that we adults have to purchase magazines to figure out what it means.

Life to a child is a moment by moment thing. And while adults can easily grumble that, of course children don't have to worry because everything is taken care of for them, we might also reflect upon the great trust children put upon the adults in their lives, to take care of those things. Those of us who ascribe to a belief in God aver that He, ultimately, is the best and greatest parent, but all too often, we as His children do not exhibit the trust in Him that the average two-year-old places in his or her parents.

There is wisdom to be found here.

Original Painting, Wall Art, Home Decor, and Apparel

The Teal Umbrella is available as an original oil painting on the Steve Henderson Fine Art website, as well as a print in various formats (framed, canvas, acrylic, wood, metal, paper) at Steve Henderson Collections. The Teal Umbrella is also available, at Steve Henderson Collections, as an image on products you use everyday, such as the coffee mug, phone case, carryall makeup bag, t-shirt, and home decor throw pillow shown below.

(All of the images are clickable, and will take you to the page at Steve Henderson Collections where you can learn more about the product. Products from Steve Henderson Collections are shipped worldwide, and all come with a 30-day, money-back guarantee through Fine Art America.)

This article is linked to Family Fun Friday.

The Grand Canyon is aptly named. What could be more descriptive of this mighty array of cliff formations set over such a vast space?

Many people, upon first viewing the Grand Canyon, whether from its North Rim or its South Rim at the National Park or the West Rim on the Hualapai Reservation, say nothing but simply stare. There is so much to visually and metaphysically take in. Silence is the most natural reaction.

Stillness, Steve Henderson's original oil painting, captures this sense of awe and wonder, in tandem with a reverence and honor toward nature's majesty. This latter sensation is one that we all too easily lose in the process of checking out the gift shop, or figuring out where we'll be eating lunch, or reviewing our travel schedule on the phone to see where next we are supposed to be.

It is a time and place to simply be still.

Supporting the Parks and Places of Natural Beauty

While the natural tendency of many human beings, when encountering a place of majestic beauty, is to stand quietly and view it, other people quite unfortunately think differently. Investment and financial acumen factor so strongly in their way of thinking that when they see pristine beauty their first thought is, "How can we develop this to make a profit off of it?"

Within the United States, the regional, state, and national park system is supposed to counteract the irreversible damage done by unfettered development for the profit of a few. Sadly, politics is more speech than action, but there are places -- like the Grand Canyon in the Southwest -- where pristine beauty has been preserved in some form for people to experience and enjoy.

Paint the Parks is a non-profit organization that encourages artists to paint these protected places of beauty, and encourages art lovers to purchase these works. In support of treasured natural beauty, Steve participates with Paint the Parks, donating 10 percent of the sale price of original paintings on his Supporting National, State, and Regional Parks page to the non-profit association or foundation connected to the park in which the image is captured.

Stillness is one of these paintings, with 10 percent of the sale price of the original painting designated toward the Grand Canyon National Park or the Hualapai Nation (the painting purchaser chooses which of the two) when it is purchased at this link.

There's something about Paris, France.

Steve Henderson's new work, Love, from Paris, captures a sense of adventure, travel, and excitement. And in the spirit of the city that is very vogue, with a sense of timelessness that embraces nostalgia, Love, from Paris transports the viewer onsite, complete with little black dress and the perfect purse.

Love, from Paris is available as an original oil painting and print.

A complementing artwork to Love, from Paris is Hello New York, the original oil painting and print.

Ocean Breeze, a consistent top-seller as a licensed print at Great Big Canvas (as of today, it's well in the top 1 percent of sales for the popular Figurative Art Category), is a featured artwork at Joss and Main's Get the Picture Event, which runs through Sunday, November 16, 2014.

Ocean Breeze, an exuberant celebration of life, freedom, and joy, has found its way onto book covers, t-shirts for weekend retreats, and licensed prints through many online home decor retailers, including iCanvasART, Framed Canvas Art, Amazon.com, and Art.com.

It's never too early for Christmas, and the countdown has begun -- regardless of what day of the year it is. Check out Steve's three Santa videos on YouTube

These Gifts Are Better Than Toys set to Joy to the World

Little Angel Bright set to Angels We Have Heard on High

Christmas Story set to Away in a Manger

Recently I received an e-mail from a person wanting to purchase a product from Steve Henderson Fine Art --

"I don't want to give you my credit card number," the client wrote, "because I've never ordered from you before and I don't know you personally."

Fair enough. There are a lot of businesses out there, and one must be wise to ensure that you're working with a real one. To that end, let me answer some questions you may have (I would):

1) First and foremost, we use PayPal as our payment method, and this means that we do NOT see your credit card number, or any sensitive and personal financial information. That's the beauty of PayPal -- as a third party operator, it stores this information and processes the transaction, maintaining your privacy. As a merchant, all we see is your name and mailing address (so that we can mail you the product), and your e-mail address, so that we can contact you.

2) While you are more than welcome to send us a check, and we do accept this method, it's really quicker, faster, and safer to use PayPal.

3) Who are we, anyway? Steve is an independent artist who sells directly through his website, which means that our prices are lower than if you purchased the work through a gallery, because we do not have to tack on the gallery commission charge. For more on this, please read Our Prices on this site. Steve shows and sells his work internationally, as original paintings, licensed open edition prints at retail and online stores, books, and artist DVDs. A former commercial illustrator, Steve has exhibited in numerous prestigious shows, and he has served as a judge and juror in various art exhibitions. You can learn more about Steve in the About the Artist section of the website.

4) Why can you trust us? Integrity, honesty, openness -- we run our business by these words. We have been paying members of Fine Art Studio Online (which provides our website) since 2008, and I, Carolyn, am a columnist for FASO's Fine Art Views. I am also a former writer for  BeliefNet with a blog called Commonsense Christianity.  My blog, This Woman Writes, has been a part of Forum Communication System's areavoices.com since 2011. Steve has been a juror for the Washington State Fair, the Wallowa Valley Festival of the Arts, Valley Art of Clarkston, the Salmon River National Show, and others.

Steve is licensed through Art Licensing, Vermont, one of the leading commercial licensing companies in the world, and published by Galaxy of Graphics.. He works with Wenaha Gallery of Dayton, WA, which sells originals and prints nationwide. He maintains excellent relationships with regional art associations such as The Larson Gallery of Yakima, WA; The Clymer Art Museum of Ellensburg, WA; the Western Art Association of Ellensburg, WA; The Valley Art Guild of Clarkston, WA; The Salmon River Art Guild of Riggins, ID; the Allied Arts Association of Richland, WA; The Wallowa Valley Arts Organization of Joseph, OR; and the Arts Alliance of Sandpoint, ID. We will willingly put you in touch with contact persons at any of these organizations to secure you a testimonial as to the integrity of Steve Henderson Fine Art.

5) We answer each and every website client contact and e-mail we receive, Monday-Friday. If there is a question about your order or a product, we will answer it; if there is an issue, we will solve it; if you want a purchase plan for a larger sale, we will set one up -- interest free. When you contact us, you reach a real person (generally Carolyn) and you are never shuffled off to an overseas calling center and bandied about.

So, this is who we are. Questions? You're always welcome to write [email protected] or use the Contact page on the website.

The licensing of Steve's artwork is handled primarily by Art Licensing of Vermont, which maintains a library of Steve's images for manufacturers and wall art companies who wish to produce products -- which can be anything from jigsaw puzzles to coffee mugs, from greeting cards to mouse pads --  featuring Steve's artwork. If you are a manufacturer and are interested in Steve's art, please contact us directly, [email protected], or contact [email protected].

Presently, many of Steve's works are available as open edition art prints through a variety of online and instore retailers, including Kirkland's, Wayfair, Prints.com, iCanvas, Amazon, and many more. Visit Steve's Art in Stores to shop for Steve's art at your favorite spot.

Ellensburg, WA is a quaint little town, complete with brick sidewalks and the requisite number of superb restaurants. It is also home to the Western Art Association, which for the last 41 years has been holding a national art auction in the middle of May.

This year, the 41st annual Western Art Association Auction takes place at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds, just below the giant water tower that everyone likes to write their names on, in Ellensburg. The event runs May 17-19, Friday through Sunday, and Steve Henderson Fine Art has four paintings in the auction -- Stonework, Ladycamp, and the two miniature studies of Eyrie and Spirit of the Canyon.

Drop in, drop by, make a bid, walk through the streets of Ellensburg and enjoy the small town friendly atmosphere where a suprising number of people wear cowboy hats and boots, and look like they belong in them.

Wall art comes in all shapes, sizes, formats, and editions -- from an original painting to a print to a poster to a greeting card, and the prices vary accordingly.

In the world of prints, there are many factors, but one of the major differences lies between an open edition and limited edition print, although frankly, with the advent of quality print on demand businesses, limited edition prints are struggling to maintain their place in the marketplace.

A limited edition print is so named because its run -- the number of these prints that are created and sold -- is limited to a specific number, say, 200. Each run is determined by size and any other qualifying factors; for instance, you can have a limited edition run of an image in a 12 x 15 size on paper, another run of 16 x 20 on paper, a third run of 12 x 15 on canvas, and so on. If you purchase the 5th print sold in the 12 x 15 on paper run, then somewhere on the print will be written (generally in pencil, since this is difficult to forge) 5/200, which indicates that your print is the 5th piece out of a total of 200 to be created in this particular run.

The print may or may not be signed by the artist (if the artist is alive, it really should be), and if so, will be of increased value. It also may or may not include a Certificate of Authenticity, a piece of paper or form that lists out the run size, the number of your print in the run, and information on inks and paper, and the date that the print was created.

Technology Defined Limited Edition Prints

Limited edition prints came into being because in the earlier technology of printing, a truly limited number of images could be produced from the printing plate before the quality of the print was no longer high, and the plate was then struck, or destroyed. With these type of prints, the lower the number, the higher the quality of print, because this represented a fewer number of times that the plate had been used. As mentioned earlier in this article, because many prints are now being created digitally, this issue of truly limited editions is no longer in place. There is no limit to how many prints can be successfully printed digitally.

If the limited print is still being created "the old fashioned way," by etching, lithograph, letterpress, or other such methods, then the "limited" term truly does mean something, and there is added value to the work by virtue of its number being limited.

Whether or not the limited edition print is digitally or traditionally produced, one that is signed, on archival quality paper using archival quality inks, and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity will likely cost more than an open edition print (but significantly less than the original painting), simply because it has been in more direct contact with the artist. Sometimes, people buy limited edition prints with an idea that they are an investment, but as with many items, their worth is subject to many things, not the least of which is limited availability, as well the exigencies of the market. There is no guarantee that a limited edition print will be worth as much, or more, as what was paid for it, simply because it is a limited edition print, in the same way that there is no guarantee that an original painting will be worth as much, or more, as what was paid for it.

As with any artwork, if you are going to buy a limited edition print, make sure that it's because you like the artwork, first. To learn more about buying artwork, check out our article, 5 Super Easy Tips for Choosing the Right Artwork for Your Home.

Open Edition Prints Are Affordable

If you opt to purchase an open edition print, you are in good company, and the options for what you can buy are increasing. Open edition prints are a terrific way for people of all budgets to add art to their walls and lives, and it is a major reason why Steve licenses his work to be created as wall art home decor, and why we offer it on our website in our Prints, Gifts, and Cards page and at Steve Henderson Collections. Art belongs in all of our lives, regardless of  income, and open edition prints make fine art a reality for more people. Open edition prints are often  printed on paper or canvas, and the quality of the substrate depends upon the manufacturer creating the print. This is one of those Buyer Beware things, as not all businesses will produce the same quality of product. Look for a reputable company (like Fine Art America, which produces Steve's prints and products), and don't hesitate to contact customer service with questions or concerns.

You can look through, and shop for, Steve's prints, gifts, and cards available through Fine Art America below:

Buying art directly from the artist isn't such an unusual thing. In these days of galleries and exhibitions and professional art organizations and non-profit art cooperatives, we've been trained into thinking that we can't deal with, talk to, or see the artist directly, but really, this is one of the best ways to purchase art.

Why? First and foremost, when an artist doesn't need to compensate for a gallery commission, he doesn't need to raise his prices to adjust for it. That's definitely a winning factor for the purchaser.

Just as importantly, the purchaser learns more about the painting and the painter, adding even more interest to the artwork.

Now when you live in the same town, or near to, the artist in question, you can frequently call to make a studio visit, and thereby view the artwork in person. When you live across the country, or even on another continent, this is more difficult, but as we purchase more and more items over the Internet, buying art online opens up wider vistas of possibilities for our walls.

At Steve Henderson Fine Art, we encourage people to look through the website and enjoy the images of Steve's various works. On each page, an artwork will be identified by its medium (oil, watercolor), size of the painting itself -- unframed -- in inches, whether or not it is framed, price, and availability. When a client finds a piece in which he or she is interested, we encourage them to read about Our Prices, which gives an overview of why Steve's works are priced the way they are.

Anyone who has looked for original fine art quickly learns that artwork has no hard or fast rule for how it is priced, and some really dreadful work out there is priced very, very high. Our Prices seeks to demystify some of this process, and further you along in your art purchasing education. Fine art, skillfully executed, is the result of an artist's passion and expertise, and producing a beautiful painting takes time and ability.

Once a potential client finds an artwork in which he or she is interested, the next step is to contact the artist. We have a Contact form on our site -- it's easy to fill out, and if a form isn't your thing, we provide a direct e-mail to Carolyn, the manager of Steve Henderson Fine Art ([email protected]). We also chat with clients over the phone or via Skype, and this communication process is designed to answer clients' questions and provide more information about the artwork and how it will fit into the space that the client has designed for it.

Do not be shy about this communication process -- purchasing art is, indeed, a process, and an artist's happiest clients are those who have had all their questions answered and feel confident about the artwork they are purchasing -- they know its colors and subject matter, and how those elements will fit into the environment they have set up for it; they measure out its size on the wall to get an idea of how it will hang there; they are conversant with the artist and know more about the painting they are looking at; they are comfortable with the final price and have worked out with the artist a means of paying for it (we frequently set up no-interest payment plans).

Of course, hitting the PayPal Buy Now button is always an option, and many people who purchase signed, limited edition prints and posters do so with the same confidence that they download an e-book, but always, the option to contact the artist and get those questions answered is a valid one.

Don't be shy.

Thank you for visiting Steve Henderson Fine Art, and if you have found an original painting, signed limited edition print, or poster that you want to make part of your collection, this is a step by step guide to success:

1) Do you have questions about the piece? Please contact us directly at [email protected] and ask. Especially if you are talking about an original, which costs a bit more than a poster, you will want to ensure that you know as much as you can about the work, the artist, and what is involved in getting it to you.

If your purchase is more than $99, we will work with you directly to set up a payment plan, either through PayPal's Buy Now Later Program (generally for purchases of $500 or less); through us directly, or through a combination of the two.

The beauty of PayPal is that you get the item instantly, because your payment situation is processed through your credit card or payment option of choice. When you set up a customized, interest-free payment plan directly through Steve Henderson Fine Art, we accept your regular payments by check or PayPal direct pay via e-mail and hold your painting in the studio until payments are complete.

2) For smaller purchases, or when you are ready to complete the transaction via PayPal and do not need a customized payment plan through our studio, hit the Buy Now Button to take you to PayPal's secure site. You do not need to be a regular user of PayPal to do this -- the site will walk you through your payment options.

3) If, for any reason, you hit the Buy Now Button and you are not taken to a payment option, please contact us at [email protected] and let us know. We do our best to ensure that all the buttons work seamlessly, but we have been known to make mistakes.

4) If you are buying more than one poster, and want us to adjust shipping (because it really doesn't cost much more to ship ten posters than it does 1), please contact us and we will adjust shipping.

5) Shipping on prints and originals is free. Original paintings are sent via UPS 2-day air. Signed limited edition prints are sent UPS ground. Posters are shipped USPS. All items are securely packaged to arrive safe, sound, and in pristine condition. If they're not, let us know and we'll make it right.

6) We do not have a shopping cart option at this time. Clients make individual purchases, and they show up in our records as such. We do, however, ship them together to your central address.

Always remember that you can reach us at [email protected] to answer any question that you may have. Write us, write us, write us. We will not nag you; we will not put you on any mailing list; but we will answer your questions.

Buying Fine Art Directly from the Artist is becoming more prevalent these days, but as with any changes, it takes time for people to figure out how to do it. Five years ago, we never imagined that we would purchase a refrigerator over the Internet, but we found an excellent site with a superior product, and the refrigerator is now in the kitchen, quietly doing its job.

Yes, fine art is different from a household appliance, but in some ways the online purchase process over the Internet is the same: if you're in the market for a refrigerator, you're in the market for a refrigerator, and you have in mind what it is you're looking to buy: a certain style, size, price range, brand, and guarantee.

If you're looking for fine art, you also are considering these factors:

1) A certain style: People who land on and review Steve's website are interested in the type of work he produces -- representational as opposed to abstract, colorful as opposed to somber hued or neutral. They are drawn to certain images again and again because something inside them reacts to those images. Increasingly, people are looking for artwork that generate this visceral feeling, as opposed to the neutral "office ware" that was in vogue in the 20th century. As poople become more confident in expressing who and what they are, they surround themselves with products -- like fine art or refrigerators -- that they like and take pleasure in.

2) Size: Houses and offices come in all shapes and sizes, as do the walls that accommodate the artwork people put there. When you look at a painting on this site, you will find the size, in inches, listed to the left of the image. For example, Grace is 20 x 16 on panel, which is the size of the painting alone, without the frame. Paintings on panel at Steve Henderson Fine Art are always framed, and you can add an estimated 3 inches each side, top and bottom, to make a final size of 26 x 22. Gallery wrapped paintings are ready to hang as is, and they are the size listed. To get an idea of what kind of wall space the painting you're interested in will take up, cut a piece of cardboard or butcher paper to that size and set it on the wall. Remember that the painting will have a depth -- think 2 inches -- that adds to its presence.

3) Price Range: When you buy an appliance, you start at a low, low end, where generally most of us don't stay, and can work up to several thousand dollars. Most of us find a happy place in the middle. In the fine art world, you can get beyond several thousand dollars remarkably quickly, and you don't necessarily get what you pay for. Buy fine art because you like it -- not because you think that you can sell it for 10 times its value 10 years from now, which, quite honestly, most regular people with ordinary looking disposable incomes, generally don't do. We offer our artwork as originals, prints, and posters, so that we can meet various price ranges, and unlike an inexpensive refrigerator, all of our products are of high quality. Our Prices talks about how we price Steve's paintings, and why.

4) Brand: Steve's paintings are Steve's, and his brand is Emotional Realism -- the color that so many people rave about, the emotion generated from that color, his skill with rendering and the ability to capture the human figure, his control of light and shadow, the very subjects he chooses to paint. When you look at one of Steve's paintings, you walk away with a sense of hope, encouragement, inspiration, even joy. That is Steve's brand, as unique as he is.

5) Guarantee: We did not hit the Buy Now Button lightly for our refrigerator, without ensuring that, if it didn't work properly, we would be able to secure immediate customer service and a solution to any problem we encountered. The same goes for fine art -- you want to make sure that the painting arrives on time, in superb condition because it was packaged well, and looking like what you expected to receive. While an image on the screen will never 100 percent replicate the original, and while individual screens do vary, we on our part do everything to ensure that the colors and form of the painting are accurately reproduced, and there are no unpleasant surprises when you unpack your purchase. We work with you before, during, and after the transaction, and we make sure that you're happy with your purchase.

We're always ready to answer your questions, and we encourage you to not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

I don't know about you, but ten years ago I had difficulty buying anything but a book over the Internet. I mean, what if I bought socks and they didn't fit? (This problem was solved when I started knitting my own socks.) Or shoes? 

And then I started buying things. I started with tea -- I found a reputable tea dealer (Upton Tea, for those of you who are interested), and was ecstatic to find that their product -- in addition to being something I couldn't find locally -- was superb, and their customer service was unparalleled.

From tea we went to all sorts of products, and now, a significant amount of our monthly purchases are made through the Internet.

So what about fine art? Can you successfully purchase it over the Internet?

Given that we sell Steve's paintings over the Internet, I would say, "Yes, definitely, depending from whom you are purchasing." In the same way that I was ecstatic over my tea purveyor's selection, quality, and customer service, we at Steve Henderson Fine Art take seriously these same elements: 

1) We have a wide selection of artwork, in various prices, from which to choose. From originals to limited edition prints to posters, we span the price range and meet any budget.

2) The quality of Steve's work -- both of the actual artwork and the materials upon which it rests -- is superb.

3) We stand behind everything we sell, from a PDF Article Booklet to an original painting.

4) We work as closely with our clients as they wish -- each and every purchase made through the Buy Now Button is inidividually acknowledged, and clients are given detailed information as to when and how their product will be shipped. Many of our clients who purchase originals or limited edition prints communicate with us back and forth via e-mail or phone (and we now have the option to Skype), and we ensure that their questions are answered to their satisfaction -- before, during, and after the sale.

5) For those people who wonder, "Who are you, anyway? How do I know it's safe to buy through the individual artist as opposed to a 'real' gallery?" we willingly provide business and character references. You will not offend us by asking.

As you will see by reading Our Prices, one of the best things about buying directly from the artist -- at least this artist -- is that you do not pay the extra price to cover the gallery's commission, which is frequently 50 percent of the painting's sale price. Buying direct, in this case, really does save money.

Please feel free to contact us anytime at [email protected].

I love my Honda Fit. And while that may seem to have nothing to do with art, actually, it does.

You see, I drive my Honda Fit, everywhere, and in the process of its being used, it gets dusty, the tires see some wear, the interior windows next to where the Toddler sits get coated with whatever sticky stuff she's got on her hands and smears onto the glass. (I know. I don't want to know much more than that, either.)

Honestly, if I kept my Honda Fit inside the garage and never drove it for, say, 10 years, it would look exactly the way it did the day I bought it, and I could resell it -- maybe at a profit -- because it would be such a great investment!

But you know, people don't buy cars to keep as investments. They buy them to drive in them, and when it's the right car, like my cute, sassy, blazing barbecue orange Honda Fit, they enjoy the process.

If more people thought about art this way, more people would own, and enjoy paintings. But all of a sudden, when people look at a painting, they go into this "I Must Make a Profit on This Investment Mode" -- even if what they're looking at is a limited edition print for $80. Somehow, they tell themselves, if they purchase this, they need to be able to resell it, ten years down the road, for $200, because that's what you do with art -- you buy it as an investment. 

What a sad, limited world view, one that keeps people from renovating their aesthetic lives and their home's walls. The best reason to buy art is because you like it, because when you see the painting or the print it makes you happy, because you want it, because -- like my Honda Fit -- it's smart, sassy, sophisticated, and fun -- in short, that painting is You.

Enjoy driving your car -- it's a marvel of technology. Drink the wine that you like -- red, white, blush -- because only you have your unique palate. And buy art because you like it. Any other reason is less than the best.

Steve sells his work as affordable wall art prints, home accessories, personal items, greeting cards, coffee mugs and more through Fine Art America.

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Launching the Ordinary Life Is Beautiful Series, Life Is a Gift features 30 short, upbeat essays by Carolyn Henderson, manager of Steve Henderson Fine Art. Steve's paintings illustrate each story. For $2.99, it makes a great gift for yourself and all of the special people in your life.

The link will take you to Amazon Books, where you  may read the first few chapters of the book for free. Compatible on Kindle, IPad, and IPod. If you do not have any of these devices, you may download an app through Amazon to view the book on your computer.

There are a lot of questions to ask yourself before you purchase a piece of fine art -- whether it is an original or a limited edition print -- but the most important one is one that people frequently overlook:

"Do I like it?"

It's so easy to get overwhelmed by questions that do or do not matter, such as,

"What would an art critic say?"

"Is it considered good?"

"Will it rise in value?"

While these questions may matter if you are a "collector" and wish to purchase the piece to put away in the vaults for a future day when you speculate that it will be worth 100 times what you paid for it; or if you are concerned with what other people will say when they walk in your house and see it, they really get in the way when you're out to put something on your wall that you like, that makes you smile every time you walk in the room, that gives you pleasure because it touches some part of your inner being that only you know about.

If you're worried about the price and aren't sure whether it's "worth" it, then talk to the gallery owner or, if you can, the artist himself, and ask about the piece. Recognize that a fine artist is as skilled in his profession as a neurologist is in hers, and one of the reason the piece you're looking at strikes so deep within in you is because the artist made it so.

Then, after you have purchased the piece, put it in a place of honor and joy in your house where you can encounter it again and again, discovering something new every time you meet.

Those of you who have read my book, Live Happily on Less, know my philosophy on spending money:

Do it wisely, do it well, and make the most of what you have. Just because you are on a budget (aren't we all?) doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the process of purchasing, both necessities and extras.

As an ostentatiously ordinary person with personal tastes in which I indulge with discernment and pleasure,  I live as intimately with our household budget as I do with the Norwegian Artist (although I am far, far more enamored of the Norwegian). 

Which is the point: While I do not indiscriminately spend -- my usual shopping experience involving cheese, canned tomatoes, and butter, sometimes more exciting items like flip flops, printer ink, and stamps -- I do save up for those completely and totally "I want this! I want this!" items, and when the jar is full I dump the coins into an envelope, transfer the funds to the bank, and buy whatever it is I've had my eye on.

Guilt free.

Generally, "I want this!" items are not ones you eat, repair the house with, stuff into bathroom cabinets, or put into the dog's bowl, which makes them difficult to justify because you don't really "need" them, but in a way you do, because they feed that happy little person inside of you who couldn't sleep for weeks before your birthday, or who skipped with joy over a pair of new, wildly outrageous shoes.

Basic brown serviceable shoes that fit right are all your feet really need. (I remember discussions along this topic with my mother when I was a child.) But they're so much less than what you want.

And is it so very bad to admit that you want something that you don't really need? We buy things we don't really need all the time, but because they're part of our everyday purchases, we don't agonize about it:

You don't really need the latte. You could have coffee at home. Better yet, water fulfills your hydration requirements.

Take out pizza? Make it yourself. Actually, whole wheat toast, a banana, and apple juice would probably fulfill the same nutritional needs. Better yet, oatmeal with raisins. It's cheaper.

That's a cute blouse; it looks good on you. But a serviceable, well-constructed t-shirt will last longer and clothe you adequately for less.

If you follow this level of extreme practicality to, well, its extreme, then life becomes dull indeed -- kind of like all math and science classes in the semester schedule and no art, no music, no drama, no history, no literature -- just a bunch of numbers and formulas. While it is undoubtedly practical and budget friendly, such economic austerity of the soul eventually takes its toll, and like the dieter who denies himself anything that smacks of a cookie,  you break down one day and binge -- on cheesecake, on cake, on ice cream, on doughnuts.

It would have been so much easier to build the cookie into the diet plan.

So go ahead -- plan for the fun things -- like fine art, which, from us -- because we know what budgets are -- you can get as originals, prints, even note cards, representing a variety of sizes and price ranges. We even set up interest-free payment plans, because we believe that art belongs in the homes of real people, not limited to art museums.

Do you want it?

Then buy it.

All of the work that you see through this site is painted by Steve Henderson of Steve Henderson Fine Art. Because we believe that real art belongs in the homes of real people with real incomes, we offer Steve's artwork, in addition to its original form, as wall art decor through various online and retail establishments.

"Do people still buy fine art in this economy?"

My mother, ever the practical woman who lived through the Depression and successfully raised five kids to adulthood, always has good questions.

The answer is, "yes," but as in everything in this ever-changing, never-got-your-finger-on-it economy, they do it differently.

Ten years ago, when house prices were literally and unsustainably going through the roof, people purchased art, as they purchased many things, as an impulse item. Today's buyer, however -- especially collectors who live real-people lives with mortgages and angst at the gas pump -- looks at the art several times, oftentimes contacting the artist directly via e-mail, phone, or in person to discuss the work itself, as well as the price, payment information, and payment plans, if available.

The result is that, when the collector takes home the painting, he or she feels good about the purchase, because it was made with an eye to the budget. It's actually a better, more sustainable, and less stressful way of treating oneself.

Artists, as well, are finessing their products to the need of the marketplace, many offering fine art, archival prints of their paintings, some for the price of a bottle of good wine or a family evening at the movie theater. The difference is, once the wine is gone or the movie is over, the money is gone; but with the print, the art stays, becoming a part of the buyer's daily life.

At Steve Henderson Fine Art, we are committed to getting real art into the lives and homes of real people, and for this reason we welcome hearing from you who are interested in Steve's work. If you've never contacted an artist before, don't be shy or feel that this is something "real collectors" don't do. Increasingly, collectors across the board are finding that direct contact with the artist, before and after purchasing the work, enhances their appreciation of their collection.

Good questions always deserved to be asked, and they deserve good answers. You can reach us through our Contact Form on the Steve Henderson Fine Art Gallery website.

We also offer a complete line of Signed, Limited Edition Prints, starting at $55, and regularly offer Workshops for those pursuing their painting path.

These are not easy days in which to live -- there is much uncertainty. There is, however, also much beauty in the world around us, and a painting -- be it original or a print -- captures that beauty and allows us to lose ourselves in it, over and over, any time of the day or night.

Let's talk about this term, luxury, first.

A luxury is something that you don't really need, and by that definition, lots of things fall into this category.

We need shelter; we need protection from the elements; we need food; we need water; we need air.

That being said, the shelter could be a hovel, and as long as it keeps us warm and dry, then anything more is a luxury.

Food? What we need is enough to sustain life -- rice and beans should do the trick, but most of us prefer to go beyond that. Technically, the steak, potatoes and spinach salad, along with the chocolate pie for dessert, that you ate last week is a major, major luxury.

Do you see where I'm going here?

Anything that goes beyond what we truly need to sustain life can be defined as a luxury.

You need a car to get to work; fine. It doesn't have to be a Cadillac, but if it makes you happy when it is, and if you can afford it, why not?

You need a phone to do your job; it doesn't have to be cute and small and smarter than you are, but if it makes you happy when it is, and you can afford it, why not?

You need clothes because you don't live in a nudist colony; they don't have to be form fitting and flattering, but if it makes you happy when it is, and you can afford it, why not?

You want something on your wall that makes you smile and feel happy every time you look at it. That's a painting. You don't eat it, wear it, or live inside it, so it's technically a luxury, but if it makes you happy and you can afford it, why not?

The short answer to this question is that an original painting is one of a kind, and when you purchase an original, you purchase the only one in existence.

Over the years, printing methods have improved phenomenally, and many printed images look quite, quite excellent -- almost as good as the original. 

The keyword is "almost." There is no comparison to an original painting, which catches the light in a unique way because of the texture of the paint on its substrate. It is, indeed, an investment.

Prints Are an Affordable Means to Enjoy Art

That being said, not everyone can afford an original painting, and prints provide a an affordable means of adding art to one's life and walls -- an extremely important matter in a world that is increasingly focused on facts and numbers and the bottom line. Without art, we become spiritless, hard-edged and cynical.

A print, which can be done on all sorts of papers, canvas, and other substrates, using all types of inks and employing different kinds of printers, is a multiple of an original. When you buy a print, you are buying one of many – an unlimited many, in the case of what is called an unlimited or open edition print; or a specific one of many, as in a limited edition run of 50 prints, which means that only 50 prints of a particular painting, in a particular size and on a particular paper or canvas, are created before the artist removes the printed work – again in a particular size on a particular subsurface – from circulation.(To learn more about this, read our article, What Is the Difference Between an Open Edition and Limited Edition Print?)

Because the artist does not need to invest hours and hours of painting time into creating each print, he is able to offer the image at a lower price, opening the opportunity of enjoyment to a wider number of people.

The Snobbery of "Art Investment"

Again, the keyword, or keywords, involve two factors: affordability and the ability to possess and enjoy art. There is a certain snobbery in pseudo art circles that originals are the only way to go, which limits the enjoyment and owning of art to those who have the money to pay the original's price. There is an added snobbery, as well, that the original art needs to be an investment, something that will continually increase in value, so that the owner can add a pride of financial acumen to his or her opinion of themselves. And because this investment generally doesn't involve reasonably priced originals by contemporary representational artists, but rather, overpriced existential abstracts or pop pieces by a limited list of names -- alive or dead, often New York based -- art is squeezed into the province of the very rich.

Owning this type of art becomes a status symbol, much as driving a particular type of car. The primary purpose of art -- to seek and show truth, and to open this world to people, is lost in the world of art investment.

But for the smart person -- the one with enough confidence in him or herself to purchase something simply because they like it and it makes them happy, prints are a very real, very affordable option to add depth, dimension, thoughtfulness, and joy to their lives and interior decor. To learn more about buying artwork and feeling comfortable doing it, check out our article, 5 Super Easy Tips for Choosing the Right Artwork for Your Home.

At Steve Henderson Fine Art, we sell original paintings and commissioned work (this latter being specific, customized paintings created at the request of the client), as well as prints (framed art, canvas, metal, wood, posters) in all formats at Steve Henderson Collections. We also, through Steve Henderson Collections, sell Steve's images on everyday products that people use all the time -- phone cases, coffee mugs, home decor throw pillows, tote bags -- even shower curtains! It's all part of getting art into the lives of real, hardworking, ordinary people -- where it belongs.

When the Norwegian Artist studied art at the university, his professors urged him and all the rest of the students to "find your style, find your subject matter, and stick with that one thing. You need to be known for a certain size of work, a specific color palette, and one kind of subject matter."

When you're 23 and your professors are in their 50s, it doesn't occur to you to ask back,

"But you don't actually show or sell your work yourself. What makes you think that this way of thinking works?"

When Steve became an illustrator, in order to put food on the family table, he quickly discovered that the ability to create wildly divergent subject matter in multiple color palettes embracing a spectrum of styles was not only an advantage to him as an artist -- a great learning curve for increasing your skills -- but also a requirement of the job. Twenty years of this enabled him to do a lot of experimentation and move forward in his understanding of various media and style.

As a fine artist, he enjoys painting representationalism with an impressionistic flair, but he does not insist that every painting be approached, or handled the same way: only thick paint, or only glazing, or only deep shadows, or only strong contrast -- the subject matter, the size of the work, the mood of the piece dictate the other elements involved in bringing the scene that his artist's eyes see to completion on canvas.

"Artists artificially limit themselves by this outdated -- and probably never valid -- notion that they must be 'known' for a specific style or subject matter," Steve says. "They're not selling flash drives. And come to think of it, even flash drives are coming out in different forms -- I saw one shaped like a bird that looked like a toy that a child would get in a fast food meal."

In the back of his mind, Steve has a half-dozen paintings ready to paint when he finishes the one he is presently painting, and the queue includes figurative, seascape, landscape, still life, with the final result being one of these, or none at all but something completely different, the choice being made, basically, by what he feels like doing.

"If an artist does not feel free to experiment," Steve says, "how will he ever grow? How will he ever discover a technique that brings about an effect he has been searching for? Artists are humans, not machines, and the very nature of humans is that we explore, dare, push limits, and create."

A study is a preliminary work, generally quite small, that an artist paints before embarking on the larger project, with the idea of testing out the subject matter, coloration, and composition to make sure that everything works together smoothly and well. Different artists do studies for different reasons, but Steve's major purpose is to create an informal color map, ensuring that the colors that work on the small scale stay true when he paints the larger piece.

"It is easy," he says, "to overwork your colors, blending and overblending until you have mud, and the study lays out the piece's palette in condensed form. If the colors work on the small scale, they'll work on the large scale, and I use the study as a reference to keep me true to the visual impact that I initially established."

Not all artists do studies, but when you find one who does, you have an opportunity to own an original oil painting for a very affordable price. Because the pieces are generally smaller (well under 144 square inches) and more loosely painted, the price reflects this; and the more relaxed style mimics that of many plein aire pieces.

Because many studies are small, they are also classified as miniatures, but not all miniatures are studies. Some artists specialize in smaller works of intricate detail, sometimes to the point of using a magnifiying class so that they can focus on what they are doing, and employing a thin brush of no more than a few bristles. In this case, although the piece is small, its very intricacy demands a higher price.

Steve has created a separate category for studies on his website -- Miniatures and Studies -- in the Original Paintings section -- and like all of his studio works, studies and miniatures are available for secure purchase through PayPal (even for those who do not have a PayPal account) by hitting the Buy Now button.

Works that are not in the studio because they are at a gallery or show are available by following the link provided, and, as always, we work individually with clients who contact us at [email protected].

You'd think that with an artist in permanent residence, there would be ample paintings for the walls, even if we do get to enjoy them only until they're sold. But the Norwegian Artist, like many artists, enjoys collecting the works of colleagues, especially those whom we get to know personally, or, e-personally.

To this end, I was at a gallery last week and was just at the point of purchasing a miniature by a talented watercolorist. But I decided to go to lunch first and finalize the purchase in my mind. (This is another great reason for artists to purchase art -- you begin to understand the mindset of a purchaser and see that you, too, do not lightly and impulsively undertake the additions to your collection.)

"How long are you open?" I asked the gallery associate.

"Three p.m.," he answered.

So off I went for Thai red curry beef and coconut ice cream with black bean sauce (this latter is oddly tasty, not remotely resembling refried beans over ice cubes). At 2:40 I was back -- to a closed gallery.

While apparently, according to a second associate, it had been a slow day, this really isn't a good reason to close up shop 20 minutes, or even five minutes, early. In our little town, we have a bakery that is successful through no efforts of its own, since it regularly runs out of popular items, employs baristas who cannot make the same two coffee orders resemble one another, and indiscriminately closes early when things feel slow and everyone just feels like wandering on home.

Do not try this in your own business.

Maybe you're like us, with a studio open by appointment and with much of your communication done via e-mail, phone, and the website -- in this case, while your day doesn't necessarily run from 8 to 5, you also don't have to be on board 24/7. You just have to be on top of things enough to respond well within a business day to an inquiring client or gallery. While I may send an inquiry out at 11 p.m. on a Friday, I sure don't expect a response until Monday or Tuesday, and most people are of the same level of reasonability.

But if you do have regular, posted hours, will you please keep them?

Regarding that watercolor, I still want it, and it's not the artist's fault that the place closed early. I will, however, let him know, so that he can let his gallery know, and hopefully, I can enjoy a green chicken curry this time, polished off by more coconut ice cream and black bean sauce, with a final dessert of that gorgeous little watercolor.

Steve Henderson Fine Art is always open for business, and thanks to the web, his products can be purchased through Fine Art America 24/7.

He has

throw pillows for sale

tote bags for sale

shower curtains for sale

duvet covers for sale

t-shirts for sale

all on his Steve Henderson Fine Art America site.

While a miniature in the art world is just what it sounds like -- a small painting or sculpture -- just how small depends upon the gallery or show in which the work finds itself. Some events limit a miniature's painting size to 36 square inches or less (as in a 6 by 6, unframed painting). Others are more generous in their dimensions, and many miniature shows in which we have been involved classify a miniature as under 108 square inches, unframed (think, 9 x 12 or less).

Miniatures also vary in how complex and detailed they are -- some, painted with a small, small brush, are detailed indeed, but then the price -- to compensate for that level of detail -- is higher as well. Others, done more loosely and quickly, reflect this in a very reasonable price, one perfect for a Christmas or birthday or general gift to oneself or to another. Miniatures are a great way to afford original art and start a collection of one particular artist, or many.

Another reasonable means to start or add to a private collection is the study, which some artists paint -- in small form -- before they embark on the larger, more complex painting. Steve keeps his studies, most of which are under 64 square inches, right next to the fullsize painting as he is working on it, and they serve as the color palette for the larger work. He frequently enters and sells these studies in miniature shows, many of which are conveniently around the holidays, just in time for Christmas giving.

Now for the holidays, Steve has miniatures in Planet Bronze Galleries, Bozeman, MT (Emerald Dreams (study), Awakening (study), and Summer Breeze (study) and The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport (Coastline, Al Fresco).

Great question.

As you may suspect if you have looked at a lot of art, there is no centralized standard by which paintings are priced. If clothing were sized the way artwork is priced, you could be a size 2 and weigh 550 pounds.

But paintings, in a way, are like cars, and often their price is based upon the name and perceived status of the artist (the more well known the artist, the higher the price). The high price does not necessarily denote the quality of the painting so much as the demand for the artist's work, namely because people deem it "collectible" and plan to sell it, at a later date, for more than they bought it for.

A Realtor relative encapsulated it thus:

"Something is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it."

That being said, if you are out to buy art because you like it on your walls, and not because you see it as a financial investment, then you can find reasonably priced, well done prices for something that fits into your budget. These works are done by what we call "emerging" or "mid-range" artists -- people who can be quite good at what they do, but who do not yet have the publicity name value that escalates the price upward.

Many of these painters achieve their retail price by comparing their works with other painters of similar style and career level. Generally, the smaller the painting, the lower the price, but even a miniature work will command a higher price if it incorporates detail that required extra time on the part of the painter.

Keep in mind that many artists offer their work framed, and a decent frame costs money. If the artist is selling the piece through the gallery, they owe the selling party a commission, often between 30 and 60 percent, and the artist's take has to pay for that frame and any shipping costs of getting the work to the gallery.

And although all paintings require time and material on the part of the artist, not all paintings sell, or at least not the moment they leave the easel, so artists build this risk factor into the price of their paintings.

Do not expect to pay $50 or $100 for a well done original painting, because no artist can make a serious living selling his work for this price. Think about your dentist -- as much as you would like to walk out of that office owing $10, what would you think of the man or woman's professional abilities if that is what they charged after all of their education and experience?

If you like an artist's work but are unsure about the price, feel free to write him or her and open up a conversation. Some may rebuff you, but others will not, and it seriously never hurts to ask. And remember this: while on your end, you do not want to feel cheated, on the artist's end, he/she does not want to haggle and bargain simply because the client has the idea that this is a flea market and wants to get the piece for a super great deal way lower than retail price.

To an artist, all sales are good sales, but some of our favorites are the ones that we do ourselves as opposed through our galleries.

Lack of commission aside, the best thing about studio sales is that we get to meet -- in person, by phone, or via e-mail -- the person buying the artwork, and we hear the story of why they chose the piece they are buying, where they will be hanging it, and how they are fitting it into their budget.

"I'll be eating macaroni and cheese for the next two months," one man told us, "but I'll be sitting in front of Steve's painting while I do it."

"I have a 'just for me' fund," another collector said. "Lately it's taken more time to stock it, but that makes the purchase all the more precious."

"I don't usually do payments, but I love this painting, and you don't charge interest," one person wrote. "The anticipation of this painting some day hanging on my wall is part of the fun of owning it."

As ordinary, regular people ourselves, we jump for joy -- literally and figuratively -- when ordinary, regular people with jobs and mortgages and car payments and dreams and a love of beauty work with us and their budgets and unwrap a gift to themselves of a work of art.

And, as we look toward 2012, we brainstorm constantly on how we can continue to meet the needs of real people. What say you? We're preparing a collection of prints, as well as notecards, and we're open to dialogue and ideas. Look for a new section of prints, studies, and Bon Marche originals -- in the under $250 range -- to be launched on the website in 2012.

Happy Holidays, all.

I love good questions, honestly asked.

Answer: Can't answer for other artists, but for this artist, no.

Because we make a point of selling to real, ordinary people with jobs and mortgages and car payments and electric bills, we work with and around people's incomes and budgets, and we are not averse to discussing price.

Does this offend the artist?

As long as the person asking is doing so because they love the work, want the work, but truly can't see paying the price listed for the work, then no, this does not offend the artist.

However, if the person just wants a deal, never pays retail, enjoys telling his friends about how he gets great art for nothing -- it's a steal! -- then yes, that attitude is offensive to the artist.

We live in a society that thinks that everyone is out to cheat us, and given the way many contemporary businesses are run, it is understandable that consumers are wary. How many of us walk, cold turkey, onto a car lot and think, "The sticker price is truly fair, and nobody's out to fool me?"

In the same way, we've all seen the $25,000 painting next to the $800 one and can't see much of a difference.

At Steve Henderson Fine Art, we do our best to price our artwork fairly, in such a way that it is affordable and yet fair to the artist as well. Quality paintings take time, skill, passion, ability, background, and energy -- they're not posters, they're not prints -- they are lifetime investments that provide dividends -- in pleasure, peace, beauty, contentment, and joy.

They are also within the province of regular, ordinary people -- and if price is the sticker, then let's talk.

I love the orthodontist's office. Not because he cleans me out as he cleans up my kids' teeth, but because he stocks recent People magazines, and while the children are back in the room of wires and bands, I am the voyeur -- the middle class serf, so to speak, glimpsing into the lives of the aristocrats -- Jennifer Garner on an outing with Violet, Oprah eating cupcakes, and Matthew McConaughey finding any excuse to flash those abs.

One of my favorite photo stories involved Paris Hilton shopping, and afterwards facing the back of the car with her boxes and bags and hatboxes and packages -- the chauffeur was off somewhere and the poor girl didn't know how to open the trunk.

Talk about living differently from the rest of us.

Aristocrats Live Differently -- Because They Have More Money

For some reason, we envy the life of the rich and famous, the aristocrats of our day, and if the upshot of such a life is that one doesn't know how to open the back of the car, much less put things in it -- or take them out later -- then what is it that we are so envious about?

I know. I know. Unlimited money.

However, if we put things into perspective, those of us swimming around in the middle class live better than the average aristocrat of the early 19th century.

Think about Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice fame -- despite their vast funds of wealth, it took them an entire day to travel 60 miles in a rattling carriage, less on horseback. We hop in a heated or air conditioned car, depending upon the season, and get there in an hour.

True, they had cooks and servants to lug their meals down dark, drafty hallways to a cavernous dining room lit by candles made from rendered beef fat, the food in covered dishes to prevent the heat from escaping -- and once you lifted the lid, you might be looking at a small bird, head intact, nestled amongst vegetables overcooked to the point of dissolving. As a non-aristocrat of the 21st century, I know that I eat better than that.

Their clothes -- trousers with no zippers, by the way, for men; cumbersome skirts and underskirts and corsets and stays for the other half of the population  -- were washed by another; and when they washed themselves, they did so in metal tubs into which a servant poured hot water. Personally, I don't mind the washing machine, and I prefer a private bath of unlimited hot water, complete with a non-slimy soap not made of the aforementioned rendered beef fat. My own homemade soap, created from exotic oils, is better than what many of the 21st century aristocracy use today.

And let's not even talk about the more intimate details of the bathroom situation.

Today's Middle Class -- What's Left of It -- Lives Better than 18th Century Aristocracy

Many of the things we take for granted -- electricity, indoor plumbing, drinkable water, antibiotics, personal hygiene, comfortable furniture, and an incredible array of food choices -- were all things beyond the reach of the wealthiest segment of society 200 years ago, so comparing our situation with theirs, we live like kings.

Ah, but we want to live like kings in the present age. Highly understandable -- one of the hallmarks of kings and aristocratic people is that they wield power, especially over other people. As "other people," many of us would like the ability to wield more power over our own lives, and not have them controlled or dictated by others. That's something we need to keep working on, and one of the best beginnings, middles, and ends to the means is to wake up to the fact that there is injustice, and there is no reason for one person -- or a set of persons -- to be "better" than the rest of us. We need to stop believing everything we are told, especially by those who are in, or closely aligned, with today's aristocrats.

It all comes down to money and power, two elements that the 21st century aristocracy is increasingly demanding for itself. When it comes to power, this lies within each individual -- in that waking up and no longer believing the lies mentioned in the paragraph above.

Regarding money -- yes, we have less and less of it, and it behoves us to use wisely the resources we do have, remembering that we are not 21st century aristocrats, and are foolish when our goal is looking like them by dressing the way they do, driving knock-offs of their cars, and spending more than we actually have so that we'll look like we . . . have more than we actually have. We can also stop labeling ourselves middle class, or upper middle class, or lower middle class, and wondering which section we belong to -- thereby relying upon the media (the aristocracy's voice for the little people) -- to tell us who we are.

Middle Class (Upper? Middle? Lower?) Creativity

It's time to get creative, and to trust our creativity. Despite the lack of unlimited money -- or even as much money as what we had in the not so distant past --  we do have the ability to enjoy many indulgences of today's aristocratic world, without the burden of being expected to look like a 16-year-old Greek Goddess while we are struggling through our 40s. While we may not have as much spare time as we would like, and understandably we'd prefer to spend less, or no, time scrunched into a grey carpeted cubicle or cheerfully asking "May I Help You?" of a rude, snappy, disgruntled customer, we can accessorize our personal lives, time and space with affordable luxuries that provide a warm glow of contentment every time we see them or use them or walk into the room where they are.

Example: every single pair of socks I wear is hand knit. Can Donald Trump say that? (When I first wrote this article, he was just The Donald. Now he's the POTUS. Bet he still wears store-bought socks.)

Granted, I knit the socks myself, but the pleasure I get in the actual process is equal to the pleasure I receive in the finished product.

A lavish meal? Learning to cook is incredibly easy; and if you have five high quality ingredients and a modicum of know how, it doesn't take much to eat very, very well.

Fashionable clothes? I know a struggling single mother who is always stunningly appointed -- she finds name brand, designer wear at the local secondhand shops. Another young mother invests in a few quality pieces and builds her wardrobe around them. I'm no fashionista, but I knit or sew pieces that I love.

Beautiful Things Aren't Just for Rich People

When it comes to art -- something that belongs in every person's lives -- we've really bought the lie. "Only rich people can afford art," we say, quoting the prices from Christie's Auctions. Maybe so -- A Jackson Pollock work, No. 5, 1948, went for $140,000,000, a price so beyond normalcy and decency that it's beyond comprehension. Forget dollars and cents: how much common sense is is involved in spending that much for a work by an artist who randomly dribbled paint over the canvas?

"Anyone could do that," the average person says.

Exactly. Perhaps it's time average, ordinary, middle lower upper class people stopped denigrating their intelligence because they're not rich. (Money does not equate intelligence, or kindness, compassion, thoughtfulness, honesty, or any other excellent quality that all humans have the capacity to possess.)

Art belongs in all our lives, and when we buy it because we like it (smart choice) instead of as an investment (aristocratic choice), we add beauty and meaning to our day. As the manager of Steve Henderson Fine Art, I strongly suggest the paintings of Steve Henderson, whose work is affordable, professional, beautiful, and not a random series of paint dripped onto canvas. There is meaning, and beauty, in Steve's work.

For those who can't afford original paintings or commissioned work, Steve offers framed art prints and canvas art prints, as well as art on products like Galaxy and iphone cases; home decor throw pillows, duvet covers, and shower curtains; personal items like makeup bags, tote bags, travel bags; greeting note cards, coffee mugs, and more at Steve Henderson Collections.

You don't have to be an aristocrat to enjoy beautiful things.

On the Horizon by Steve Henderson

As I mentioned in an earlier article, Purchasing a Painting over the Internet: Is It Safe? buying original fine artwork online is an increasingly viable and enjoyable way for people to improve the look of their living room walls.

Anyone who has looked up a recipe online knows that there are thousands of choices, and even a five-star rating does not guarantee success (against my better judgment, I once made a banana bread recipe calling for two cups of mashed bananas for one loaf of bread; the result, despite the five-stars, was a thick conglomerate of baked umber ooze more suitable as a doorstop than breakfast).

A painting, however, is more of a monetary investment than failed banana bread, and the prospective collector of an artist's work wants to ensure that what he is seeing, and has fallen in love with, on the computer screen, looks even better once it is unpacked and hung over the sofa.

The first step toward achieving this satisfaction is using the common sense that I should have used with the banana bread recipe: if something doesn't seem right -- with the work, with the artist, with the website -- then don't blindly plunge ahead thinking that all will come out right in the end. If you have questions, then ask them, and continue asking questions until you are satisfied with the answers.

At Steve Henderson Fine Art, we communicate with studio clients via e-mail and phone, beginning with the initial contact ("I saw this painting I absolutely LOVE on your site,") and following up with a series of communiques that acquaint us all more firmly with one another. Although Buy Now buttons are appended to studio pieces on the website, we have found that prospective buyers want to engage in conversation about a work first before hitting the button or sending the check, and rightly so.

Many clients want to know the story behind a particular piece -- why Steve painted it, where it is located, whether it was painted on site or in the studio. Because Steve uses reference material that he has collected personally -- and not from stock photo sites -- we are able to supply a personal story for each work, from the historic Hughes House setting for Madonna and Toddler to the quirky race hiker encountered on the 9-mile trek to Hidden Lake. The Fruit Vendor remains my favorite story, a soft-spoken, Colombian market businesswoman who always saved behind the counter a special bunch of  bananas for her regular customers.

The story behind the work is an added bonus, as most people decide on purchasing a painting because it latches onto their psyche and demands to be a part of their lives. What matters is that they own it, and through the years, their own stories are added to its history.

It is important to us, when dealing with clients who are unable to come to the studio and see the work in person, that they have a firm idea of what the painting looks like in real life. An image on a backlit computer screen can look more  -- or less -- vibrant and colorful than it actually is, and

 Steve works to mitigate this issue by ensuring, through PhotoShop, that the image posted on the website is as accurate a replica of the original as he can make it. Individual screens vary, however, and what looks one way on one screen looks slightly different on another.

In our communications with clients, we send larger views of the work so that the buyer can zoom in and see the nature of the brushstrokes and the application of paint. If there is a gallery nearby (and with several in the Northwest, one in Arizona, one in Montana, and one in Connecticut, there are options), we encourage the buyer to visit and see Steve's works in person, to get an idea of his overall style and palette.

Because a painting is an investment -- and a personalized one at that -- many quality galleries have a policy of allowing the buyer a set period of time, generally two weeks to 30 days, to fully finalize the sale, with the option of returning the painting -- unharmed and in its original condition -- to the gallery should the buyer decide not to make the purchase.

We also ascribe to this policy, and it is in both our and our clients' best interest to ensure that everything we can possibly do to educate a client about a work -- BEFORE we complete the bill of sale and send the work to the client's home -- is done. To date, we have never yet welcomed back a work from its outward journey, and the general response has been, "It looks even better in real life than it does on the website!"

So, how much can you expect to pay for an original painting by an emerging or mid-career artist -- the best, most affordable source of original work for the collector of non-Lear-jet means?

An excellent question, and one that deserves a future column of its own. Stay tuned . . .

Amber Waves by Steve Henderson

Describing art is as subjective as saying that an elephant is big.

You've got that right.

Especially in today's climate, in which actual paintings by elephants are hung side by side with those done by humans, and litterbox sculptures by cats are hawked as masterpieces of feline thought (felines . . . think?), it is difficult for the average person to know the difference between good art and bad.

And do not be misled -- just as there are good movies and bad movies, and well written books and poorly plotted ones -- there are standards by which one can call one painting excellent, and another one, not so excellent.

The problem is, the standards differ depending upon who is talking. The modern expressionist art movement dominated the conversation in the room for most of the 20th century, drowning out sensible questions like, "That is a large red square with a yellow line going through the middle and a blue dot on either side, and it looks like something my eight-year-old could draw. So why is that painting 'better' art than the ocean picture with waves that not only look like waves, but seem as if they are splashing in my face?"

Thanks to the re-emerging representational movement, people of the 21st century are feeling freer to express their opinions about a piece, and both clients and artists are wriggling out of the stranglehold of the upper crusty elite artistes who insist that the only good art is something that not only does not look remotely like anything, but also requires hundreds of multi-syllabic words to describe what it is supposed to be.

While modern, abstract art has its place, it is not the evolutionary pinnacle of humanistic thought, transcending the works of Rembrandt, Renoir, Chagall, Cassatt, or Da Vinci. Some of it is good, and some of it really is no more than the average 8-year-old could do. If you like it, and the price is right, then buy it. If you don't like it, then don't let anyone convince you that you should -- either like it, or buy it.

If your tastes lean toward representational work -- meaning that what is painted actually looks like something, then you as the viewer have the right to wonder why the artist painted something a certain way, and whether he made the head of a figure large and out of proportion because he wanted it that way, or because he couldn't do it any other way. Drawing is a skill, and not all artists have it.

Again, because art is subjective as well as being subject to the interpretation of the artist, there are no hard and fast, quick and easy rules for determining whether a piece is professionally or amateurly done (Naive Art comes to mind), just as there are no hard and fast rules to determining whether a person is a Christian or not ("Does he drink? Smoke? Swear? Watch R-rated movies? Dance, play cards, or wear lipstick? Not a Christian").

As in The Emperor's New Clothes, however, common sense does come into play.

While good representational art does not have to look just like a photograph (after all, if you want a picture of the ocean that looks like exactly like a photo of the ocean, then feel free to buy a photo of the ocean), it does need to stand up to a viewer's logical questions:

1) If people or animals are in the piece, and their body parts look out of proportion, why is this so? Is it because the artist wanted it that way, or because he couldn't do it any other way?

2) If the colors are garish and odd, do they work? Despite the oddness, does the painting still appeal?

3) The painting looks flat, the images without dimension. Again, is this because the artist wanted it that way, or because he couldn't do it any other way?

4) The paint is really, really thick -- all over the entire canvas. Would it have been better if the artist had confined the thickness to certain areas, and played with thinner paint in other areas?

5) Why did the artist choose this specfic subject matter?

The questions are limitless, and the answers enlighten.

Enjoying and collecting art is a pleasurable journey, one in which you learn more as you ask questions; visit artist studios, galleries, and museums; and read. If someone makes you feel stupid, then no matter how much they profess to know about art, they are not the professor for you.

Because the art you hang on your walls is for your pleasure, one of the primary considerations that comes to play is whether or not you like it -- has the artist used his skills with color, brushstrokes, perspective, lighting, shadow -- in effect, paint -- to engage you to the point that when you walk into the room, you walk toward the painting because its immediate visual impact is so arresting and strong?

Do you love this piece?

Then, regardless of whether it is abstract or representational, large or small, colorful or monochromatic, a portrait or a landscape, focusing on a penguin in pink tights or a girl walking down the beach, and, most importantly, whether or not Someone Else tells you that you should, or should not, like this piece, then this is the piece for you.

The Internet has opened all sorts of new markets. Books, clothes, music, home decor, all come our way at the clacking of a key -- why not original art as well?

As owners of the online gallery Steve Henderson Fine Art, we encourage cyber sales, and through the years, have found ourselves addressing the best way to make both client and artist happy with the experience.

For a brief overview of purchasing paintings online, Ehow addresses the basics in How to Buy Paintings Online, but after this  primer, you'll probably have a few questions. We'll start by one that we consider very important:   

Is it safe?

Purchasing art over the Internet is not like ordering a pack of socks. Because many individual artists sell their work online, you want to make sure that the person with whom you are dealing is a valid artist, running a reputable business, and willing to work with you throughout the process.

Many brick and mortar gallery or art museums that represent specific artists have an online presence in addition to a street address; there are also strictly online conglomerates that offer work by a multitude of artists. These should be relatively easy to research, as, in the case of the former, they generally leave a footprint in the form of newspaper articles, magazine reviews, and Chamber of Commerce statistics, and, in the latter, showcase a number of artworks by individual artists who can be tracked and identified. 

Individual artists are the most difficult to verify, but also the most rewarding, because you are able to communicate with the artist himself, something that is often off limits in a traditional gallery setting.

To research an individual artist, find his individual website. If you don't have the address, type in the artist's name and see what you come up with; you might add "artist" or "art" after the name to narrow the scope, especially if the name is not outrageously unusual.

While it is not a firm requirement, it is a good sign if the artist has a designated website, and not simply a space on a freebie site. An updated, well kept-up website indicates that the artist is serious about selling his work, and should have policies in place concerning client satisfaction, payment, and returns if necessary.

Once you're on the site, look around: Is the artist represented by any brick and mortar galleries or art establishments? Another good sign. Resumes and background can be made up, but whether or not an artist is actually represented by the establishments that he says he is -- this is something that can be confirmed by a phone call, or a visit to the representing gallery's site.

Has the artist participated in any shows? These, also, can be easily confirmed.

Is the artist a member of any societies or organizations? Has he studied or earned a degree in his field? More confirmation of validity. 

Does the artist have a business license? This is public record,  and, again, evidence that the artist is serious about selling his work. (Yup. We've got one.)

At any point in the researching process, feel free to contact the artist and ask questions, whether about the artist's background, a specific work, policies of purchase, or anything that you need to know to further your goal of owning one of the artist's paintings. Most websites have some manner of contact form, and working artists enjoy interacting with the people viewing their art.

Buying a painting is a process, and once you find an artist whose work you like and whose credentials are established to your satisfaction, you are ready to ask serious questions of the artist about the piece or pieces in which you are interested. After all, seeing a painting on computer screen is not the same as seeing it in person, so how do you ensure that what you see is what you get?

That's for the next article. To make sure that you don't miss it, please bookmark this site, and consider signing up for our monthly e-mail newsletter where we list a summary of articles published during the month.