So You Want to Buy My Art, Let’s Demystify the Process

So You Want to Buy One of My Paintings

Brian Frink

Buying a painting online can feel a little strange.

A painting isn't a pair of shoes or a toaster. It's a physical object, often one of a kind, and you may be looking at it on a screen hundreds or thousands of miles away. You might wonder: How do I pay for it? How on earth do you ship a painting? What if something happens to it along the way?

Those are all reasonable questions.

The good news is that buying a painting directly from me is pretty straightforward.

If you see something on my website, Instagram, Substack, or somewhere else that interests you, just contact me. I'm happy to answer questions, send additional photographs, show details or edges, give you a better sense of scale, or talk about the work itself. I understand that a photograph on a screen can never completely reproduce the experience of standing in front of a painting.

Payment

I try to make payment as easy as possible. I accept checks, cash, Venmo, and pretty much all of the usual electronic payment methods.

And yes, I can take payments over time.

If there's a painting you love but paying for it all at once makes you hesitate, talk to me. We can often work out a payment schedule that makes sense. I'd much rather have that conversation than have you assume a painting is simply out of reach.

No mysterious art-world ritual required.

Pricing

I price my work by size and keep the pricing consistent across similar pieces so that it is clear and fair. The price of a painting also reflects the materials, the time the work requires, and a lifetime spent developing the work.

I've been painting for decades, and my work has been exhibited in museums and is held in public and private collections. That history is part of the value of the work, but I don't think buying art should require an art-market education to understand the price.

I also keep prices consistent across buyers. That fairness is important to me, and it honors the people who have supported my work over time. I don't want to undercut someone who bought a painting from me last year simply to make a sale today.

Shipping

And yes, paintings can be shipped.

I've been making and sending artwork around the country for a long time. The work is packed carefully, and before anything leaves the studio we'll talk about where it is going, what shipping will involve, and what it will cost. Larger paintings sometimes require a little more planning, but that's my problem to solve, not yours.

I want the painting to arrive safely just as much as you do.

If you're nearby, pickup from Poor Farm Studios may also be an option, and sometimes delivery can be worked out depending on where you live.

The Important Part

You do not need to know anything about the art market to buy a painting.

You don't need a consultant, a gallery relationship, or a secret handshake. If you love a painting and want to live with it, contact me. We can have a conversation.

For me, one of the great pleasures of selling a painting is knowing that something that spent months - or sometimes years - being part of my life in the studio is going out into the world to become part of someone else's life.

So if there's a painting you keep coming back to, ask about it.

That's usually how it starts.

Brian Frink