Many collectors of art are often looked upon as belonging to a very elite group — super-wealthy, well-connected, highly successful individuals. These collectors have made their “bucks” (millions) on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley, and they have the financial means to acquire a Picasso or a Koons or a Hirst without a second thought as to their bank balance. Of course, these individuals do exist. However, they are in the minority. Like most views of our world the image of art collector as “international jet-setting fashionista, yacht-owning playboy (or girl) or geeky IPO-gazillionaire” is not the norm.

Most art is collected by ordinary people; people like your and me, with ordinary day jobs, good kids at school and not insignificant mortgages on their homes. So while you may not be able to afford the $75 million tag for a “re-discovered” Monet at auction, you may be able to find a beautiful original oil painting at a fraction of a fraction of this cost. Or, if original canvases are beyond your means, you can find affordable drawings or limited edition prints and lithographs. You can find gorgeous new work made by artists who live and work near you — what could be better than discovering real, local art.

Collecting art is much more about vision and passion than it is about wealth. Herb and Dorothy Vogel lead the way in this respect. They are the epitome of “ordinary” art collectors. I say “ordinary” because they really are far from ordinary. Over many years they built one of the world’s leading collections of contemporary conceptual and minimalist art, and all on the salary of a postal clerk and librarian. Luckily for us, they have since made most of their extraordinary collection available to all.

Simon de Pury, chairman of Phillips de Pury, a global auction house echoes this sentiment below; quite rightly asserting that wealth is no substitute for vision and passion. You can even start collecting original art from our beautiful blue art-o-mat machine (for a mere $5). Happy collecting!

Psst!  It’s that time of year again. Time for our Annual Art Attack Sale. Once a year, from mid-December to late January we slash our prices. So, you’ll find many works from our favorite artists on sale at up to 50 percent off.

This is a once a year chance to purchase great art at unbelievable prices. Remember, we don’t negotiate prices or discount at other times of the year. So, now is the time.

And, even though we’re an art gallery we have a great selection of gifts for her, him and the teacher. We have gifts in all price ranges, starting at $5 for an art-o-mat, under $25, under $250, and over. We have gifts for young and not so young, stylish and eclectic. Best of all, none of our gifts require batteries or contain toxic chemicals from elsewhere.

We have beautiful glass vases and rondels. We have glass ornaments for your Christmas tree. We have fine jewelry from wearable glass, to contemporary and colorful polymer clay. We have functional pottery and unique, museum quality decorative ceramics. We have warm sculptures in exotic woods. We have flying machines. We have fluid abstracts and luminous landscapes and soft geometrics. We have detailed, imagined landscapes and lush verdant works of insects. We have subtly soft pastels and vibrant mixed media.

We have fun paintings for children and works for grown-ups who seek sophisticated style. We have vivid photographs of our beautiful local surroundings and far-away lands. We have hard forged steel candlesticks and soft fabric art. We have fine sculpture in metal and in wood. Phew! Did I miss anything?

So, make this season special. Give the gift of art. It’s unique, it’s lasting, it’s meaningful, and it’s local. And, it’s on sale right now.