My heart nearly jumped out of my chest the first time I saw Rima's work. I immediately contacted her and asked her about originals to see if any were available. Of the several that I loved, I was lucky in that she did have a few available still. I now own the original of The Visitors and I can't even begin to tell you how much more amazing it is in person.
I highly suggest you hop on over and check out Rima's blog, The Hermitage where you'll discover all sorts of wonderful things. Including the fact that she tells her stories from her house on wheels.
You can see more photos of her lovely nomadic home (including the inside) here, in this post.
How amazing is the internet and the Etsy community that I can purchase an original painting from a woman halfway across the world from me who lives in a house on wheels?
If you love storytelling and folklore please do check out her blog, lifestyle and work, it is really inspiring. I feel so lucky to have a piece of her art. An original. One that I can see each mark of her pencil and brush on. Almost like I am there during the creation of it.
I can't wait to frame it and put it on my wall forever. I have my own story about this painting as does my husband, that is the beauty of her work, you can make up your own folktale with the images - yet somehow they seem so very old and real.
Now for the unpopular part of this post...
I don't buy prints and I think they are the joke of the art world. I will now duck to avoid the tomatoes thrown at me by my print selling friends. No, seriously, they all know this about me and have come to accept it, mostly. You see, I buy art to own an actual creation of a person, not a duplicate of one. I also tend to see art as an investment and prints (unless in rare, always limited edition cases) do not appreciate in value.
I'm also secretly jealous of my printmaking friends. How is it fair that they can print something from their home printer on a piece of paper and charge money for it over and over and over? More money than I could charge for an individually, handmade wooden item that I can only sell once? So. Not. Fair. I write all this in jest of course, but there is truth in it too. So prints. I don't buy them.
Originals, on the other hand, I actively seek out. The first thing I do when I discover an artist that I like is to see if they sell originals and see if I can afford one. The crazy thing I've found over the years is that usually, I can. For the price of a handful of prints that are worth nothing and will continue to be worth nothing, I can own the original piece of art. Where I can see the brush strokes, every detail in real life. It is like owning a piece of the artist and is such a huge honor for me every time I purchase one.
So save your pennies to purchase an original next time you have a spot empty on your wall. You won't be disappointed!
