ARTWORK FOR RENT?
Using embroidery and textiles in her paintings of buildings, artist Rosalind Davis has made a name for herself in the art world.
Rosalind Davis: "The embroidery is used as an element of drawing you in, because it's very tactile, and making you kind of look closer at the surface." Like many emerging artists Davis can't always be sure of earning a regular income. The London-based painter is now working with online portal RiseArt.
They chose her as one of around 50 curated artists who promote and sell their work on the RiseArt website. They also commissioned two limited-edition prints, and Davis believes it will help bring her work to a new audience.
Rosalind Davis: "They're promoting it, and selling it, which hopefully means a more stable source of income, as we all know it's not necessarily that stable or reliable to know you're going to sell a painting, but if you're kind of, if you've got an avenue, an outlet where someone is basically consistently trying to sell your work in that way, and selling prints, which are more affordable than the original artworks."
RiseArt's founders started the business to give more people access to original art. Alongside the curated collection from handpicked artists, the website also displays works by around 1500 others. They say the traditional way of buying art - through galleries or exhibitions - could be intimidating and expensive, says co-founder Scott Phillips.
Scott Phillips: "Go, use our online tools to discover your taste in art, we have an online quiz, and based on those results we'll present you with tailored, curated collections based on our curators, you can connect directly with the artists and follow their work." If art lovers find something they like but are not yet willing or able to commit, there's also an option of renting original works.
Prices start at £25 per month. Photographer Ravi Juneja was looking at images of the Scottish Highlands online when he discovered this work by Pedro Guimaeraes.
Ravi Juneja: "I'm happy to be able to rent it now to be able to secure it, and I will buy it, and if there was anything else on there that I liked then I would go for that too." RiseArt isn't the only online upstart looking to open a new digital window to the art world. [7]But with its novel rental scheme, it's betting that winning customers along the way will ultimately translate into a sizeable business. And it's already planning to expand into other European markets.
(Joanna Partridge/ Reuters)
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