The art market can seem like a daunting world, reserved for those with millions to spend on artworks by the biggest names in the business. But don’t be intimidated: everyone can enjoy buying and owning art in an affordable way. Use your eyes, not your ears, Having a plan is helpful in a market where everyone is urging you to buy. It’s very hard as a new collector—and even for a savvy, experienced collector—to stave off the temptation to shop with your ears, especially when you enter this market knowing nothing, every gallery is going to have a pitch. Every dealer will claim to be selling you The Next Big Thing. Don’t be bewitched by the words, shut out the noise and focus on what you’re looking at.

This is partly why patience and learning about what you

Collectors and advisors often use words like “journey” and “evolution” to describe amassing a collection, illustrating its nonlinear and ongoing nature. A collection should never be a static thing. The best collections that I’ve ever seen, appraised, been invited into, are collections that have constantly evolved and been constantly upgraded over time.

As you learn more about the arts, your tastes are going to change. You may find yourself able to discern the top quality works from the lesser output within an artist’s oeuvre, open to a new, perhaps more challenging artist as your understanding deepens. Today he is part of collecting base. These kinds of changes come about from constant exposure, deeper consideration, and patient contemplation.

Of course, there is more to collecting than buying art. Equally important is committing to the arts as a proposition, and encouraging their broader accessibility to those in your community.

If you come to love a gallery’s program, stick with it. And remember that once you find an artist you like.

Art restoration becomes a niche pursuit where damaged paintings can be restored to how they were intended without losing their value. But the process is not as simple as picking up a palette.

Old paintings have varnished layers. Varnish is a clear transparent finish that is used to preserve the pigment of a painting. It helps protect the colour from degrading over time, but the varnish is also prone to oxidation, which turns a muddy brown to yellow.

So, the first step after taking images of artwork is to clean the painting and remove the varnish. Here's where the science begins. To remove the varnish, solvents are typically used to prevent damage to the paint layer. However, the incorrect solvent, the wrong concentration, or improper technique could irreversibly damage the paint layer.