Contemporary Art(icle)

As an aside to the business (Waterwell) that I run, I have become increasingly interested in contemporary art of late.

I have always enjoyed modern & contemporary art in galleries but it viewing it in a gallery doesn't compare to owning it yourself. Having your own art is a right of passage, you find something you like, by an artist you rate, you commit your hard-earned cash and hang it on your wall. But what do you get and was it a good investment? Investment aside, if you like the art then you will get the pleasure of seeing it every day, in different lights, when you are in different moods and each time, you will see something new. It might be the way the morning sun lights your picture, it might be a detail you hadn't spotted before, it might be the emotions it generates in your soul.

But with the massive growth and interest in modern art, with record prices being achieved at auction for works by Warhol, Damien Hurst and the like, how can contemporary art be accessable to ordinary folk?

Well, I will let you into a little secret, I have been buying works by Pietro Psaier at auction. Pietro Psaier created pop art based upon icons such as Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, Jagger and Bowie but he also experimented with printing techniques and 3d works. Currently his works go from as little as £100-200, often much more but still in the grasp of most people.

Pietro Psaier is an Italian born in 1936. His father was a designer for Ferrari in Maranello and Pietro followed in his fathers artistic footsteps by collaborating with him in the 1950s. After a spell living in Franco's Spain, Psaier settled in New York where he hooked up with Andy Warhol and Rupert Jasen Smith to create art at "The Factory". It was here that much of Warhol's work was produced, often by Psaier and Smith who were the artists while Warhol was the front man.

When Psaier's relationship with Warhol fizzled out in the 1960s onwards, Psaier continued to work until his untimely death in the 2004 at the hands of the Tsunami, when his remote beach house in Sri Lanka was washed away.

Unusually, since his death, Psaier's works appear to have been randomly dumped onto the art auction market in great swathes instead of being controlled and managed. This means that currently there is much choice available but the supply is finite. Once the artist's catalogue has been bought up there will be no more and at that point the prices will climb.

If you are interested, then maybe Google his name and see if you agree with me. Real, quality art by a recognised artist avialable and "Ordinary Joe" prices, it has to be worth a look.

09:36:00
by Simon Sales

Waterwell - for Garden Lighting or Irrigation


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My first blog

Hi

This is my first blog so, if it comes out looking terrible then hopefully next time I will have learnt a little and will make a better job of it.

I work in the horticultural industry, the garden sector specifically and more exactly the wealthy end of the domestic garden industry in London & the South East of England. It is interesting work, there is a huge variety of clients, houses and gardens to deal with on a daily basis and we do our best to enjoy it.

In my line of work (we install garden irrigation & lighting systems) we see the finest gardens being built in some of the best properties in the world. The gardens are designed to the highest standards, the buildings fitted out with every concievable convenience from underground carparks with turntables and lifts, through sliding roofs over subterrainian swimming pools to hand-made furniture & silk wallpaper. It is a privilege to work on these properties alongside the other trades and professionals that are required to complete a job of this nature.

The purpose of this, my first blog, is to champion the skills of the tradesmen and women working in the UK. The stereotype of the lazy builder just does not exist in this market where each trade has no choice but to work alongside all the others in order to get to the finish line. They have to demonstrate communication skills, flexibility, adapatability and patience in addition to the usual skills that they employ. These skills have to be demonstrated in very difficult and trying conditions that would test the patience of the most diplomatic of people. That is not to say that people do not fall out, they do, but they deal with the issues professionally, resolve them and then put them behind them.

At this level, there is an unspoken agreement between all the trades that everyone is working to the same common goal of providing the best product for the client, getting the job done to this best of their ability and getting paid fairly for the work. It is this common aim that enables the whole building project to function without chaos. It is something that we (as a nation) should be proud of, and celebrate.

In my next blog I shall detail the process needed to achieve a successful building project.

Waterwell - for Garden Lighting or Irrigation