Author: Abby Browne

Artist residence Flintshire UK
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Art? As an investment?

There is always a lot of excitement generated in the fine art market and 2022 was no different with an auction of the painting, Shot Sage Blue Marylin by Andy Warhol, selling for a record breaking $195 million

Now of course I don’t for one moment put my art at the level of the blue chip artists (Piccasso, Basquiat etc) but I can show that my art has increased quite considerably in price over the last 2 years. It originally sold for around £250 a piece and now sell at up to £1350. A 440% increase in that short timeframe. And of course, as I continue to increase my name recognition through gallery representation it can only increase in value.

In the 2022 annual report by Art Basel & UBS Global Art estimates worldwide art sales surpassed $65.1 billion in 2021. An increase of 29% from the previous year. So there is certainly a lot of transactions in art estimated in the range of 36.7 million transactions in 2021.

Any form of investment usually carries some risk with market risk based on an undiversified stock market. However, and here is the really good news, artwork is not connected with any stock index. It is completely separate from traditional asset movements. Also art does not depreciate, if anything art only gains in price from it’s first commission. On top of this art is not a list of numbers to stare blankly at through a monitor. It is an asset you can enjoy whilst it is held in your portfolio.

There are many artists looking to gain that break in the blue chip world and up-and-coming- artists like myself produce the highest quality artwork for a fraction of the price of blue chip art, but only due to lack of name recognition which can change at any time!

So if you are looking for an aesthetically pleasing way of investing for the future then please visit my website www.abbybrowne.art or contact me regarding commissions.

Abby xx

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This too, shall pass…

It seems such a horrid time at present. I could complain about the weather being cold and damp but then there is so much more to be concerned about and so much empathy that needs directing elsewhere. You would think, by now, that we would have learnt the futility of waging war. The destruction, the pain, the sorrow. No individual is immune from the consequences in a war zone. There is no distinction between combatant and civillian. There is only death and destruction. Pain and suffering.

That is why I look to imbue my art with colour and light. I hope to remind myself, and others, that there is still much beauty in the world. It is there, right in front of us, we only have to look to see. They fear love for they cannot control love. When I feel dispondent, helpless and angry that I alone don’t seem to be able to make a difference I look to remember that my part is to share that hope, that light, to provide colour and alernative mind sets into what will otherwise be a depressing and dark newsfeed that we see on a daily basis.

Today, I will try to share love, I will paint sunflowers, the national flower of Urkaine. I will pray for an end to the pain and suffering. I will play whatever small part I can in bringing light, colour and beauty to what seems, yet again, another dark chapter in our existence. I have to believe that this too, shall pass.

Любов, світло і мир Україні.

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Just for Today…

Just for today I will put up a picture of myself. It’s for Sky Arts Portrait artist of the year 2022. It’s not something I would normally do but then as I grow in recovery and in my art I’m finding myself pushing out of my comfort zone again and again. Just for today I will challange my insecurities about not being good enough. My fear of failure and my indecision.

Just for today I will acknowledge how incredible it feels to be two years sober. I will recognise how far I have come on an artistic, business and spiritual basis. Just for today I will accept compliments of my works with the due gratitude and humility it should be granted. Just for today I will believe in my ability to take the next step forward and move up to the next level on my artistic journey. Just for today I will accept that it is not in my time. It is in my Higher Power’s time.

Just for today I will focus on the love I feel and share with my family, friends and I include those who follow me as friends, and my connection with God. Just for today I will feel the grass beneath my bare feet. The breeze that tugs at my hair. The sound of birds actually living their lives in the now and the ever so gentle warmth of the Sun on my face.

Just for today as I accept that spring and summer will arrive as planned, that the chill air will grow warm and that life will blossom in it’s usual explosion of colours and shades. So I will accept, just for today, that the preordained way I am to follow will open out before me as I walk life’s path.

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All paths lead to the One true light

So it’s coming up to that time of year once again; Christmas, the holiday season,the festive season. It doesn’t really matter. The truth of belief in whatever will always lead to the One true light. It can be sad that sometimes this is the only time of year that any thought is given to something that is more than us, a power higher than myself. I believe it’s time to bring oneself back to what matters. There is only one truth and that truth is love in whatever form it takes.

I took myself to the darkest of dark places. A place I felt I would be chained to for the rest of my life. I could feel myself loosing that love, loosing my children, loosing my respect, loosing my mind. Indeed, loosing me. So I decided to give that something else a chance. I decided to let go and let God in the broadest sense of the word.

Has my life changed? In answer I can say I have my family around me today. I feel respected for who I am. I love what I do in life. I feel loved. Is that a life beyound my wildest dreams. For an acloholic who was in the pits of despair I have found my own little piece of heaven on earth. But I try to remember to give back. We are never all in the same boat. We are in different boats. Some big and safe, some small and fragile. Some will ride out the storms which arise. Some will unfortunately drown.

My life now is a life of rebirth. From the ashes it shall arise. This Christmas I hope we can all arise from our slumber and arise every day of our existence. Compassion costs nothing but the rewards are greater than we could ever imagine.

If nothing else this Christmas. Give Love!

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Autumn’s Palette

Autumn, a time of retreat, of change, of decay yet such a beautiful season. The wind, rain and storms approach with a ferocity that only nature can conjure and the days begin to darken, as night stealthily creeps closer; there is still so much colour and beauty.

Meandering through the local woodland, watching the squirrels hustle and bustle as they store for the coming winter the landscape has exploded into nature’s palette. Reds, yellows, browns and golden wonder stand stark against the crisp blue background of the sky.

Nature inspires me. It presents me with a spectacle of awe, a framework of colour, shade and light that I look to bring to my own artwork. In these troubled times as the planet’s life force itself stands on a knife edge I try to do the best I can. It is never enough but I try. I want my children to have a world of splendor and beauty, a world full of hope, to be the guardians of our world which we have only borrowed to keep safe for future generations.

So I look to create beauty, calm, fantasy and wonder in my artwork. To try to say these images do not only have to be in our imaginations, they can become real. We are all individually like a stone dropped into water. The ripple we cause will have an affect on everything. The Butterfly effect. So we can chose to bring darkness and chaos or we can chose light and beauty.

The choice is that simple!

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Keep it Simple

That’s one of the sayings I remember hearing when I first came into recovery. Keep it simple. Sounds easy enough doesn’t it? However, life is never really simple, especially with two young children and because I tend, as I guess we all do, to try to complicate it.

I’m trying to keep my approach to my artwork and my business (which really are two different beasts) simple. If it works, if people like it then go with it. But I like to explore, to try different styles, to attach my interpretation to a style of painting which makes it, or else me, complicated.

I have some really exciting ideas moving forward and I can’t wait to share them with you. This last 6 months has been a roller-coaster mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I’m excited but in that middle mode now where I’m ready to fly but scared to spread my wings at the same time.

Keep it simple. It’s about the journey, not the destination and it is a truly beautiful journey. I’m blessed to be where I am today, to have the opportunity to share my passion with others, with you and to do so free from addiction ‘One Day At A Time.’

Abby xx

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Yesterday’s Dream

That is the title of the last piece of work I painted purely for myself, which sold within days. The reason being? I am completely snowed under with commissions. Over the last couple of months they seem to have come in pretty much one after another. My personal Yesterday’s Dream, one I’ve had as a child, is to be a selling artist and I’m certainly that now.

As my work, my success and my journey progresses I’m constantly finding new challenges, be they artistic or the more, in my mind, mundane tasks of business. I’m sure my business partner, the ‘engineer’, would find the reference to “mundane tasks” a tad irritating. I owe him much!

It’s such a pleasure, after years in the darkness of addiction, to see the fruits of my labor paying off and for that I am deeply grateful. I have to say that without the support of all those who follow my work it would have taken longer to get to this point, so thank you. Each and everyone of you.

As ever, I continue to tread the path, to take the journey I’m meant to; One Day at a Time.

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Gratitude

My latest work, in oils this time, is on the theme of gratitude. A woman simply grateful to be sat in the warm sun. It’s an easy word to say but not always so easy to actually feel! I have much to be grateful for in my life both as an artist and as a human being.

There is a lot going on at the moment which could easily stray me from the path of gratitude. I currently have ‘shingles’ which is really impacting my life with severe pain and fatigue. I try to distract myself through my art but it has to be in small increments.

I’m also attempting to put my presence further out online by applying for some of the top galleries such as Saatchi and Artfinder. Of course with this comes fear. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of rejection. Attempting to understand that a potential rejection of my work is not a rejection of me as a person.

But gratitude has to be the key. I’m a selling artist, my following is increasing quite dramatically, I’ve been featured in various media including the Daily Mirror, I have a loving home and most importantly, I’ve not picked up a drink today. ODAAT.

I hope my next blog will have good news within it but if not the journey, as it always does, will continue. Bye for now and take care.

Abby x

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To Be Free Again

I decided to name one of my latest works, ‘To Be Free Again’, to celebrate and look forward to the end of lockdowns and restrictions and to explore a place of peace and serenity within my work. Yet we now find, with this new Delta variant, that this may be far from the case.

I, just like you, have no idea what the future holds. What I do know is what ‘Now’ holds. Now holds the opportunity to live life one day at a time. To take in and be present in any given moment and therefore, to live life to the full.

Creating my artwork brings me much serenity but it is not just the finished article that provides this. It’s the journey, just as in life, where the true serenity lies. After all, as humans, we are not born to be merely happy. We must experience the full gauntlets of emotions we encounter on a daily basis if we are not to fall into the happy trap!

Wherever our paths take us I hope we can continue the journey, through my artwork, together. We all walk our own path, heading towards our own destiny but it is nice to meet up with you from time to time. Until we meet again friend!

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Fear knocked at the door, faith answered. There was no one there

I’ve not long realised, with the help of my 12 step recovery plan, how much fear was affecting my art, myself and my life. Fear of not being good enough, fear of ridicule, fear of negativity, fear of failure. Is the art I’m creating the right type? Can I find my niche and style? Will people like it? Am I an artist of any worth?

After talking to my partner I agreed to take a time out and to have a soul refreshing weekend away. And then it happens on the morning we are to leave. Three sales, two commissions and another two sales whilst away. Allowing myself to be taken by the currents of life rather than exhaustively fighting against them has lead to a richer, deeper understanding of both my artwork and what is actually meaningful to me in life. Being a mother, a lover, a daughter, a sister, a friend along with being an artist of worth is far more important to me than any particular financial gain and this has come to me in all the lovely comments and support from the individuals who follow my work on Facebook. It truly has meant so much to me. I thank each and everyone of you and send my love.

Fear did indeed knock at the door but all the beautiful people out there reminded me that there is never anyone there. To have faith that there is a plan. That whilst I won’t always get what I want. I will always get what I need.