Introducing: Buy Art
A link list of artwork by living, breathing (and sometimes dead) artists
Hi my dears! Do you wish you had artwork made by real artists hanging in your home, but you don’t really know where to find it?
Buy Art is a new installment of Handpicked, featuring unique artwork by real artists.
Every Friday I’ll share a small batch of links to original, handmade, and one-of-a-kind artwork you can actually buy. Think oil paintings, woodwork, photographs, watercolor, sculpture, limited edition prints, and more. Whether your budget is $15 or $1500 or $15,000, Buy Art is a handpicked resource for finding art made by real artists.
1. “Fall Meadows” by Jenny Johansen, $680. Oil on copper panel.
The piece that gave me the idea to start Buy Art! It literally made me gasp when I saw in Four Lemons, a marvelous new gallery in Salt Lake City. The combination of oil paint on copper is so magical, I wish I could give one of Jenny’s pieces to each of you.
2. “Vermont Snowflakes Limited Edition J3” by Wilson A. Bentley, $70. Photograph.
Snowflake Bentley, a Vermont farmer, was the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. Photographing over 5,000 snow crystals in his lifetime, he is credited with the discovery that no two snowflakes are alike. This print, one of 200, is made from the original glass plate negative on which he shot the photo. To be honest, I’m shocked that the Jericho Historical Society (who houses his collection) is selling these prints for such a low price. They’re absolute treasures, plus they come beautifully matted and framed. (I own one of these precious prints, gifted to me for Christmas by my sister Emily!)
3. “Crabapple Branch with Blossoms” by Kathryn Bondy, $296. Paper on wood.
It’s hard to choose just one Golden Age Botanicals piece, and I can promise you this won’t be the only one featured in Buy Art. Kathryn handmakes each blossom in her studio in Canada, often to the exact specifications of the organic material itself. Hard to believe these are made from paper by human hands.
4. Antique butter mold, maker unknown, 19th century, $145. Wood.
Despite their dangerous proximity to knickknackiness, antique butter molds captivate me unlike any other kitchen thingamabob of yore. Don’t you think it’s beautiful that a woodcarver would take the time to craft such a thing for the sole purpose of beautifying a stick of butter? That, to me, is art. I’d hang this above the toaster.
5. “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver, printed by Loren Profit Smith, $15. Letterpress and ink on handmade paper.
We all know the famous last lines of this poem, but I’ve yet to find a prettier presentation of it; somehow the words letterpressed into Loren’s petal-streaked paper feel kind of holy. This piece hangs in a simple wood frame beside my kitchen sink.
If you have a piece of artwork you’d like to share, I’d love to see. You can reply to this email or leave a comment in the Substack app.
Thanks for reading! See you Wednesday for Handpicked!
xo, alex
Wow I love this!! Now we just have to figure out how we convince YOU to take on commissions :)
I love this idea!! Can’t wait for more!