5 Most Expensive Paintings of All Times

Below are some of the most expensive paintings in all times:

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt (1907)

This famous painting was sold to Ronald Lauder for his Neue Gallery in New York City for $135 million on June 2006.

The portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, wife of a Jewish sugar industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer and the hostess of a prominent Vienna salon became the only model that was painted twice by Klimt when he completed the second picture of her, which is the Adele Bloch-Bauer II, in 1912.

Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh (1905)

This painting was sold to a Japanese businessman named Ryoei Saito for $82.5 million on May 15, 1990.

This business shocked the world as he wish to cremate with him Vincent van Gogh’s painting. Later he explained he was using a figure of speech: threatening to torch the oils was just an expression of intense affection for the masterpiece. He then died in 1996. As like we all know, Vincent van Gogh always painted two versions of his paintings. The other version of Dr. Gachet’s portrait with a slightly different color scheme was located at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Bal au Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1876)

This painting has two versions with the same name but in different sizes. The larger one is located at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, while the other one which is smaller version was sold on May 17, 1990 for $78 million to Ryoei Sato, the same person who bought the Portrait of Dr Gachet.

Garcon a la Pipe by Pablo Picasso (1905)

This “Boy with a pipe” was painted by Picasso during 24-year-old Picasso’s famous Rose Period, a period when he preferred orange and pink colors. It illustrates a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand.

This painting was sold on May 5, 2004 for $104.1 million. The record price was a bit of surprise since the painting is not made in the Cubist style that Picasso is being well-known for. Some even said that the paintings high sale price has more to do with the artist’s name than with the merit of historical importance of the paintings.

Dora Maar au Caht by Pablo Picasso (1941)

This painting illustrates the painter’s mistress, seated on a chair with a small cat hovering on her shoulder. It was sold on May 3, 2006 in New York to an anonymous bidder for $95.2 million.

These paintings are among those paintings that have been sold for a really overwhelming amount. Well I guess, for a really avid fun of art collections, these prices were worthy.

Try searching online about the famous paintings who have bought for an enormous amount. You might also want to buy abstract art for your own in an abstract art gallery online and choose among those gallery paintings that are worth collecting for.

Golf Course Paintings

Good news for golf lovers! Golf art is now gaining more of popularity specifically in terms of investment. Any golf lover would surely want to have a painting of their favorite golf course signature hole in their rooms. Since original oil painting of a golf course is expensive, alternatives are available to access your favorite landscapes with the choice to invest in a limited edition Giclees. Giclees has the highest quality canvas replicas that look very much like the original ones.

Between buying a photograph or a painting of your favorite golf course, I think paintings would be much better choice than photographs because photographs generally don’t appreciate and reducing it value over time. Giclees are a good investment too if they are personally singed in pencil by the artist and also numbered for their limited edition. Graeme Baxter’s famous golf course arts will fetch you a better return on investment. Graeme is considered as the “official artist” to more golf events than any other artists that places him at the top of the list for gold course commissions. His original artworks are being sold from $14,000 to over $200,000 depending on the overall size of the piece. Giclees oh his paintings are much more affordable but look very much like the originals.

Giclees of beautiful world famous golf courses that are made by renowned golf artists has more value than those of ordinary course. You might want to check out the impressive golf landscape paintings, like those of Graeme Baxter that were displayed at well-known golf clubs around the world such as Pebble Beach, Mission Hills, Augusta, St. Andrews Old Course, Dubai, and Pine Hurst in China. Surely, golf lovers will enjoy the beautiful artwork of golf course landscapes.

Artists in this field make Giclees out of their photographs, original artwork, or computer generated art. On a per print basis, Gicless are more expensive than 8-color offset lithography that is known as the traditional or old process. Ink jet printing is much better than off set one.

CMYK color process is the most common used ink jet printers. In Giclees, it is important to use archival inks that are fade resistant, including the solvent inks. You can choose from several forms of printing materials such as papers, vinyle, and the most popular among all is the cotton canvas. A more high technology ink jet printer is used in creating a enormous variations of colors that are required like light cyan and light magenta inks along with regular cyan and magenta colors.

This process is being used since the mid 1990s. During those times, the prints didn’t have a long lasting color. As for Giclees, they used high-quality and latest ink jets that have higher longevity and light fastness. So before investing, I recommend you to check the first the quality of the ink.

Want to know more about golf course painting? Are you an art enthusiast who loves collecting contemporary painting? Visit gallery paintings online or buy abstract painting in the nearest art gallery in your place.

Famous Auction House in the World

Art Auction is a way where you can buy or sell a various pieces of art though putting them for a bid. The person who is the highest bidder will get the art and buy it with the amount that he has agreed upon. People practice this long ago, way back 500 B.C.

This way people will determine the value of an item. It was in England during the 17^th century where the first ever action documented. The exact date was June 21, 1693. It was announced as the great auction pictures in the Banquetting House, White Hall.

Years gone by, several valuable art pieces have discovered their due price in various Auction Houses. Examples were, “Lady Betty Delme’’ by Reynolds that was auctioned for 11,000 gns, The Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh that was sold for $82.5 million on May 15, 1990 at Christie’s New York. I would say that auction is the best way to sell paintings.

Here are some of the famous Auction Houses that was proven as the best evaluators of art:

Christie’s

Founded in London, England on December 5, 1766 by an art evaluator named James Christie, this auction house was known for auctioning the art works of More. Recently, it auctioned off artwork and personal possessions connected to historical figures like Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh.

Sotheby’s

Another famous auction house in the world is Sotheby’s, which is also the oldest auction house that still active and operating in these times. Its first ever auction was controlled by its very own founder, Samuel Baker in 1744. Today, it is said that this auction house has an annual turnover of approximately US$2 billion. It has branches in London’s Posh New Bond Street and in the center of New York, Manhattan.

These two auction houses are always have an extreme rivalry for the position of the world’s best auction house. These two even auctioned contemporary paintings. So if you are a very avid fan of abstract art collection, you can go either of the two and bid for your bet abstract art paintings.

Wood Frames for Your Fine Arts

We all know that picture frames can add an amazing touch to an artwork. Wood frames add an old look to pictures and they have a warmth look that is best for both home and gallery use. For wood picture frames, you can choose from numerous options to achieve the correct design that you want.

Usually, we used wood frames for paintings. As an alternative, you can also use black wood frames for fine art photographs since it gives an equally attractive look. The good thing about wood is that it can be painted, gilded, or stained a wonderful shades. You can use honey maple, white wash, or cherry, to add a magnificent look to your artwork.

Nowadays, you can purchase a quality wood picture frames that is ready to assemble. Premium frames are assembles with glue and v-nails to have a secure fit at each corners.

The one we usually see in museums and galleries are the large wood picture frames. More often than not, they are opulently carved and gilded. These frames are also comes in a considerable amount of weight, and this is one factor to consider if you plan to hang your artwork in the wall.

For a great flexibility, custom wood frames are perfect. With wood custom frames you can choose from numerous options of frames in whichever width best suit for you. This is also a good choice for the homeowners who want to add any abstract art in their home.

Other option is the metal frame that offers a glossy and stylish look. It could add a cold-looking in home decors that lean toward country or bucolic styles. If this is what you want, then, this is the best choice for you!

For those photographers who often love their work to display in their home, black wood picture frames is a great choice. It gives an edging look and provides a bit more warmth than metal frames.

These frames are perfect for contemporary paintings. It will give your abstract art paintings a desired look that you want.

You can ask experts to help you in choosing the appropriate wood frames for your fine art.  You can also visit an abstract art gallery to have an idea on which frames you should choose.

Do It Yourself Glass Panting

Surely, when paint is put into glass, it will create an amazing work of art. This art is now becoming so popular because aside from collecting them, they are a perfect choice for your home decoration. As a matter of fact anyone could actually do it. Since this is not that difficult to do, you can come out to a beautiful painting on a glass a day.

With glass painting you need to have with you some paints, clean piece of glass, glass liners, paint brushes, nail polish remover and a soft piece of cloth. You can buy these materials in a set, so no need to worry. You can purchase these kits in the market. Of course, you will also need your creativity and a little bit of patience. Before you start you will also need to choose regarding the colors you will use. If you are a beginner, I suggest you use a water-based color, which is also included in the beginner’s kit.

How to make your own glass painting?

1. So, you have all with you the materials needed for glass painting, next thing you should do is to clean the glass till the surface become smooth.
2. If you choose to not oven cure it, and then you need to have a somewhat rough surface. Firing it in an oven will let the oil paints dry and stick better or else paints will peel or become crack. You can also rough up the surface with wet or dry sandpaper. This way the paint will stick better and last longer.
3. I suggest that you choose a pattern that has clear outlines with less possible curves and pointed corners.
4. Trace the pattern on a piece of paper that has an exact size as the glass. Your pattern should be drawn exactly at the center with at least 1 or ½ inches margin on all sides.
5. Remain the glass on the patterned paper. Make sure it aligns correctly.
6. Using the glass liner, make some outlines of the pattern on the glass. To make it more visible, I recommend you use a black glass liner. The use of this border lines is to hole the wet colors in their place and avoid the paint from spilling.
7. Be careful not to mess up the pattern! In case you mess it up, clean the smudged part with cotton-wool that has an ample amount of nail polish remover then wipe it with a piece of cloth.
8. Let the pattern dry. Usually, it takes 2 to 5 hours to get it completely dry. You might also want to use a blow dryer to quicken the process.
9. After drying, you can now apply the colors to fill the patterns in a same manner of stoking. Get enough amount of paint and don’t let it spill. Any part that is not painted can be seen from the reverse side by lifting up the glass. Remember not to lift the glass in a vertical position or else it will drip off the colors.
10. You may encounter bubbles in applying your colors, if such thing happen, pierce it with a needle or a pin or gently brush them towards the outlines so they will be out of the boarders and then you can wipe them with the nail polish remover.
11. Do not double the coat of the paint in any portion of the patter.
12. Leave it for at least 24 hours, and let it dry completely.
13. After doing so, place it in an oven. Set the temperature to 160 degree C or 325F. When the temperature finally reach 160 deg C, time it for 40 minutes then switch off the oven and allow it to cool. Then remove the glass painting inside the oven.
14. If you do want to fire it in the oven, you can just let it dry in an open air.
15. You may also put you glass painting some beads, glitter, and sequins right after applying the paint, before it dries.

This technique can also be use to decorate and make a painted stain glass window or mirror.

You may also consider any modern art to decorate your home like abstract art. You can buy abstract paintings online or visit abstract gallery. Perhaps you can also see some glass paintings for our home.

Coffee Painting straight from Java Cup!!!

Truly, may artist still find their way to discover a new technique for their artworks. German artist named Dieter Roth add a twist to his masterpiece. He used a variety of edibles in his cultural work including spices and bananas. Espresso, coffee or Tea is not an exception. I’m sure some of you have already heard the sensational and fabulous art of coffee painting.

Brief Historical Background

According to some, the art of coffee painting might originated from “Thai’ regions. In the past, Chinese were used to make brown background in painting using tea. Yet, coffee painting nowadays is taking over its place completely.

Perfect for artwork

Not all people know that coffee is a great medium to form art. Using coffee as your medium will have your painting an old-look effect. Using a pure coffee, water and brush will let your painting have an everlasting shine. This unique method of painting can not be delivered by any other medium.

Only a few knows that coffee painting could be use as a dye for painting and creation. Artists are coming up in a series creating a tremendous art with coffee. Pornchai Lerthmmasiri (Thailand), Mira and Amita, Andy and Angel, Karen Eland and others are few of artists who have done a fantastic and extraordinary artwork with coffee.

Coffee has its unique qualities to other mediums. Coffee is a unique way in making your artwork. It will depend on how much water you add to create different tones. According to Pornchai, at first he started to cover his water color painting lightly with coffee to get the old-look effect. He found out that it was very interesting and effective and continued to experiment. Some of it was good and some were not.

Ancient buildings, waterfalls, distant mountain, streets in one shade or anything which is kind of brown color can be made with coffee effectively.

Using coffee as your dye is not that difficult, all you need is just coffee mixed with water, a brush and water color paper. You can try it on canvas but note that when it becomes fold, the coat of the coffee will crack. You may want your paper mounted on wood to keep it from flexing.

Note that if you will use too much coffee the texture will be too elastic to paint with and will make unwanted glittering flakes on the paper. Though coffee paintings may not be last a lifetime but the same can be said for many other mediums.

Some others belief that once you paint with coffee, you will never think of any other mediums. Perhaps, impression and aroma of coffee painting holds breathe of art, artist, and art lovers on single canvas.

Coffee painting is one of many modern way of doing an artwork. Many contemporary paintings of today give an ever-fantastic look to your place. You may also buy abstract art painting to decorate your place. You may also visit the nearest abstract art gallery and be amaze with what you will see.

Paintings for Animal Enthusiasts

Perhaps you feel bored by looking with the old pictures in hanging on your wall and you want new wall pictures of wild animals which I would say a great way to add mystic beauty to the place. This is a good idea especially of you love animals. And I am sure there are lots of people who are fond of paintings of animals including the pets and wild animals. Wild animal is no longer new to human beings. Most paintings of animals have been found in different caves where the prehistoric man lived. Wild animal art is widely recognized art that illustrate the natural world and inhabiting wild animals.

Since the artists are very fond with animals they see wherever they go, they also have with them their cameras, so the wild animal art comes from the real pictures. Since the paintings are replicas of the real photo, it has full details and will look as natural as it presented in the photograph.

Because the artist wanted to bring out the natural look in his/her painting, it will require him lots of skill to make it more realistic. It will surely depend on the artist’s skill to make his/her work a real masterpiece. Since the subject includes wild animals, it should be painted with the wild surroundings to make the ambiance more realistic.

It is indeed important for the artists to know more about his subject and the setting of his artwork because if you will draw a monkey inside the cave, the artwork will not look realistic. Artist also do some research regarding with the animals anatomy including the fur color and bone structure of the animals. The artist who has great skills in using light and shadow would surely succeed in bringing out the perfect look of the wild animal art.

An artist who specialized in painting wild animals has also an ability to draw hidden animals. In this way, the small animals can only be seen if the viewer will look closer to the painting. Can you imagine ten animals hidden in a single painting? Isn’t it amazing?

In painting a wild animal, it is also important for the artist to capture the real mood of his subject. Depending on the sunlight setting and the mood, painting will definitely gives a feeling of the animal’s presence.

Usually, artists of this kind are wild life enthusiast. They are more interested in preserving the life of these animals and most of the time used their paintings for wild life awareness. They even exhibit their paintings and sell them, which later donate the money just to conserve the wild life. Many of the contemporary paintings nowadays include wild animals as the models. You can search a galley website in the internet that will allow you to look with their wild life painting together with abstract art, landscape, and still life paintings. Choose among the gallery paintings and just order them online.

Outdoor Painting

What people mostly think when they heard paintings or art is gallery or where we can place the paintings inside our home. On the other hand, when we heard about sculptures or plaque, we think about outdoor areas. Outdoors wall art offers the same opportunities for you to design outdoors as we could on indoors. As what everyone would like, you can make your backyard beautiful with the replicas of popular paintings.

Outdoor wall paintings are can safely be hung outside for the whole year. It also has a look of stretched canvas plus it has UV inks that are printed right away to the aluminum. The artwork is wrap around its sides that gives the picture an amazing three dimensional quality. Since the reproduction quality is look exactly as the original, no one could tell that it is not a real canvas. Another thing is the surface coating has been scientifically approved to withstand even the worst weather conditions. Your canvas’ texture could either be smooth or faux.  Aluminum is a strong and resistant to elements that make it best for outdoor use plus it is a lightweight metal with a bright silvery luster.

Since this is resistant to fading, moisture, oxidation, peeling, freezing temperatures and UV rays, you don’t have to worry if you will put this decoration on you decks, patios, pool areas and garden walls. This could add your garden walls a character and color plus it will definitely look more elegant than any other garden wall.

Of course like any other decoration it requires maintenance, but with this, a little bit of cleaning will do. For dust or dirt, just wash it with mild soap and this can be hosed off with water. Most paintings come with mounting brackets and fasteners. Virtually, it secures to any outdoor surface with brick, stucco, wood, stone or siding.

With this wall art, you could have an open air gallery as large as your imagination can allow and will bring the gift of wonder back into your life and environment.

You may find it disheartening when looking for the perfect piece of art. Let me give you a few examples that may help you decide in choosing the complete style that will fit you: If your decor is quite antique in design, try romanticism or impressionism; for a more traditional look, look for something vintage or retro art; and for contemporary or modern, try art deco, pop art, or abstract art. Which ever your style is, make sure that it will satisfy your needs.

Aside from you garden you can also put a wall art by your pool. Let’s say a beach front scene where there are sea gulls flying around with a view of rushing waves, or en a picture of falls. These would surely give your pool a relaxing look.

You may also want to buy abstract art to spice up you home. Try to visit any abstract art gallery so you can choose the best abstract art painting among those paintings.

Faux painting for your Wall Design

Have you heard about faux painting? Well, let me introduce these wonder faux painting. Faux painting comes from the French word “faux” that simply means fake. Basically, faux painting is creating a fake surface with the use of paints and glaze. It not just making a fake surface of silk, it can also be used create finishes of stone, wood, marble, or raw silk textures. If you want to have your room a makeover, faux painting is a good idea. It also creates a warmth and depth without spending too much of a mess.

Faux painting could be your hobby. It will surely brighten up your home and side from that, it is a good idea for your family bonding. Now, let me help you in doing your own faux painting by giving these simple tips:

1. Prepare all the materials! For faux painting another thing you should not forget is putting a masking tape on your ceiling and baseboards just to make sure that the job is neat. You should also cover your floor. I suggest you use cloth rather than plastic because cloth absorbs the paint more quickly and will be less messy than using plastics.
2. For your base paint, I suggest you use a water based latex paint. Eggshells and satin colors and textures are the best to paint over. Another thing you shouldn’t forget is to cover your whole wall with basecoat because if there are many patches they will show through in glazes.
3. For a better outcome, it is advisable to practice first on boards. You can also practice and match shades of base coats with glazes. This will also help you to be sure on what faux painting technique you will use including the right combination of colors.
4. Don’t forget to line your trays with plastic sheets. This will save your time and energy in washing trays, especially if you are mixing your own smooth finish.
5. In mixing glazes, the right amount of paint and glaze is important. Generally, it is a 3:1 ratio of paint to glaze. Test the color on a board for you to see if it is what you wanted. And remember to mix the glaze in small amount.

Aside from those tips, here the usual faux painting technique you can use that results in different finishes:

Combing – If you want to have a dramatic effect on your painting, this is the right technique to be use. However, this has a complicated procedure that will take you a while to do. This method involves dragging a comb or brush in plains and basket weave.

Sponging – The easiest and most well-known technique in faux painting. In this method, you need to use a sponge with various colors over the base coat and blend it in for the desired effect. Always use a natural sea sponge for your desired effect and not those synthetic sponges.

Ragging – Same as sponging method but the only difference is it uses a rag instead of a sea sponge.

Color washing – This method gives the most subtle and natural look to a room. It includes the use of paintbrush in a chaotic manner over the base coat. Use two or more colors depending on how dramatic you wanted your painting to come out.

Remember, whatever technique you want to use, make sure that you are enjoying while doing it. The good thing about faux painting is that there is no right and wrong method, all you have to do is to have fun and make you wall look good.

You might also want to buy abstract art painting as your home wall décor. Abstract paintings are as good as faux paintings and other contemporary paintings as well.

Art Tapestries for your Home Room Décor

Want to have a new look on your wall? Good news! Wall art tapestry is a perfect answer to it. Tapestries have more attractive looks because of their texture and artistic depth. With the way the designs are woven on to a fabric makes the tapestries a more lively presence. This is very noticeable when you look at the landscape, scenery, or religious tapestry. This is why the tapestries are so popular among all art enthusiasts, art collectors, home makers, and interior designers.

Art tapestries when put on walls regardless of it theme, gets attention from anyone who visits in your home. A beautiful woven tapestry piece gets the viewers attention because of its unique presence. If you want to truly appreciate the significance of wall art tapestries you have to experience their awe-inspiring presence right in front of you.

All beautiful and breathtaking images of art tapestries add a stylish design to your home. You can choose from pristine and remarkable landscapes, events of historical importance to religious faith. You might want to have a tapestry in your home as it would enable you to admire the beauty of nature, appreciate the significance of an historical event, or even regain faith in spirituality.

Art tapestries have a unique design that will transform the entire look of your room. It adds viewpoint to your room in the form of a visible scene that blends well with the décor of the room. Your room will become larger than it could be because of its beautiful and lifelike look.

Aside from using your art tapestries to fill the large space of art you can also add it as a decorative touch to a small room. Wall art tapestries varies in sizes, shapes, and designs that will surely fit any form of your room setting. So if you are looking for a tapestry that represents the woods of a forest or a religious historical war, you can be assured that you will find a tapestry just as you wanted.

You might want to have your own tapestries to design your own room, you may consider to order online and choose from a wide variety of beautiful and unique art tapestries at a highly affordable prices or you may also consider buying abstract art paintings to add new style in your home.

You might want to have your own tapestries to design your own room, you may consider order online and choose from a wide variety of beautiful and unique art tapestries at a highly affordable prices or you may also consider buying abstract art paintings to add new style in your home. Try to visit abstract art gallery and choose from any of those gallery paintings.