Five People, Four Homes, and the Paintings They Chose.
You'll meet people with real homes, real tastes, real doubts—and, eventually, paintings they were glad to bring home.
By now, you may have learned how to look at a painting somewhat differently.
You know that choosing art is not simply a matter of finding something that matches the sofa.
You have learned to pay attention to your first emotional reaction, to composition, colour, light, shadows, and details, and finally to the most important question:
Can I imagine living with this painting?
But there is another thing that can make us feel much more confident.
Seeing that other people have already made this journey can help us feel much more confident.
Real people.
People with real homes, real tastes, real doubts—and, eventually, paintings they were glad to bring home.
Let me tell you about five of them.
The family doctor who couldn't choose.
The first story began rather unexpectedly.
Our family doctor knew nothing about Elena's paintings.
During one of my appointments, I mentioned that my wife, who has been a fashion designer her entire professional life, dreamed of starting to create paintings using oil techniques, and she has finally immersed herself deeply in this theme.
She was surprised and asked for Elena's Facebook link.
About a week later, she called us.
"Could you bring four or five of Elena's floral still lifes?"
Of course, we did.
She looked at them carefully.
She liked several.
And then she faced a grave problem.
Which one?
She liked three of them so much that the decision eventually became
Buy three—or buy all of them?
In the end, she chose three:
"Sunflowers."
"My Lovely Lilac."
"Bouquet of Rowan."
The doctor's selection is presented below.
The original oil painting by ElenaG titled "Sunflowers" was bought by the family doctor.
"My Lovely Lilac." The original oil painting by ElenaG is the second artwork chosen by the doctor.
"Bouquet of Rowan." The original oil painting by ElenaG was a 3D painting bought by a doctor.
We present examples of interiors featuring purchased paintings as purely illustrative; they bear no relation to actual interiors.
Family room with "sunflowers" as a focal point of the interior.
The living room features "My Lovely Lilac" in the centre of the wall.
"Bouquet of Rowan" is the focal point in the open concept of the kitchen.
She was delighted.
"Wow, I am completely satisfied now," she told us. "I can see all three of them in my living room."
Then she looked at Elena and added something that made us laugh:
"You should buy Elena's paintings now, because later, when you become a very famous artist, the prices will be close to the sky!"
We smiled.
At that time, we certainly weren't thinking about paintings reaching the sky.
But three years later, something happened that I remember very clearly.
We met our doctor again at the Bard Song Festival.
Elena had decided to paint a new still life right there among the crowd.
It was a brave experiment. Painting in public means receiving people's reactions immediately, whether you are ready for them or not.
Then we heard a familiar voice.
"Oh, I know Elena!"
Our doctor was talking to some people nearby.
And then she said,
"You know, gentlemen, I bought three pieces of art by this artist three years ago. And even today, I praise myself for that choice."
That sentence meant much more to us than any compliment about colour or technique.
She had chosen three paintings.
And she was still pleased with that choice three years later.
Perhaps that is what we are really looking for when we choose art.
Not simply something we like today.
Something we are still glad to see tomorrow.
The painting that arrived during difficult times.
The second story began during the COVID period, when everyone was spending far too much time at home.
One day, Elena decided to create a new still life.
She spent several hours working on the composition before she even began painting.
Then came another round of photographs, adjustments, and more photographs.
A few days later, she invited me into her studio.
I saw the finished painting. Elena titled it “Crispy Winter.”
A bright red branch of rowan stood in a glass vase on a table covered with a white lacy tablecloth, and the glass vase looked freezing to me.
Nearby, juicy summer apples were like messengers of summer on the winter table.
There was something almost cinematic about the scene.
It reminded me of another time.
A week later, Elena posted the painting in a Facebook group for art lovers.
That same day, she received a message from a woman who was interested in the new painting.
She left her phone number and asked Elena to call her.
This original oil painting titled "Crispy Winter" by ElenaG was the musician's choice.
The next day, she came to our home.
These were still COVID times, so we stood on the porch and talked through our masks.
Only later did we discover something rather remarkable about our new visitor.
We found several documentaries about her on YouTube.
She was a well-known composer and musician who was still actively performing.
And she had seen something in Elena's painting that made her want to come and meet the artist.
That painting became the beginning of a friendship.
She later bought several of Elena's still lifes.
And sometimes I think that this is one of the most beautiful things that can happen with a painting.
It begins as an object.
Then somebody sees it.
Then somebody feels something.
And suddenly, the painting has brought two people together.
We present an example of an interior featuring a purchased painting as purely illustrative; it bears no relation to actual interiors.
Original oil painting by ElenaG as a sample of a focal point in the modern interior.
A song, a painting, and a friendship are all part of this story.
The third story is probably my favourite.
Our friends know how much Elena and I love bard songs.
Whenever possible, we go to the Summer Bard Festival.
One evening, we joined a group around a campfire.
One singer would finish a song, pass the guitar to another person, and the music would continue.
Somewhere in the middle of the evening, a woman about Elena's age took the guitar.
She began to sing.
And something happened.
Her song touched us very deeply.
I looked at Elena.
Tears were running down her cheeks.
When the singer finished, she prepared to leave.
And then, almost before I understood what was happening, Elena went over and hugged her.
The two women were both smiling and crying at the same time.
It was one of those strange, beautiful moments when you don't need an introduction.
Something has already been said.
The next day, Elena remained so moved by the experience that she painted a new still life.
She called it:
"Love Is Life."
She decided to give the painting to the singer as a small expression of gratitude for the emotions her song had created, although the paint on the canvas, of course, couldn't have dried.
This painting was presented to a singer, and the main idea of this artwork was that fresh red flowers will always win the fight with old, dry thorns.
Original oil painting by ElenaG titled "Love is Life."
The singer gave Elena a CD of her new songs in return.
And that exchange became the beginning of a friendship.
They have now been friends for almost seven years.
They still remember those gifts.
And we know that Elena's painting hangs in the singer's home in Texas.
A painting created because of a song.
A song that moved two people.
Two gifts exchanged.
And it was a friendship that lasted for years.
I sometimes think that was a remarkable moment of collaboration between two talented women—one expressing herself through music, the other through paint.
Neither of them planned it.
Neither of them went looking for it.
It simply happened.
We present an example of an interior featuring a purchased painting as purely illustrative; it bears no relation to actual interiors.
The second version of the original painting by ElenaG, titled "Abundant Garden," is a sample of a focal point in the interior.
P.S. Later, I recommended that Elena duplicate that artwork again. We didn't appear to like that storyline enough. And she reproduced it from memory on a little bit greater scale and called it, in this instance, "Abandoned Garden."
We decided to enter the painting in the Reverdale Art Show a year later, and a couple purchased it. I recall them asking us, "Is this the first time you've been to that art show?"
We said that we had much experience of participation at numerous exhibitions, but here we are the first time.
After that, they told us that they live near this park and return every year to purchase artwork from the new artist.
I asked them why they picked this painting, and they said that they saw some message in it.
Now we have the picture of the artwork in our file.
What do these stories have in common?
Five people.
Four very different situations.
Five very different paintings.
But there is something common in all those stories.
Nobody bought a painting simply because somebody told them:
"This is good."
They saw something.
They felt something.
They thought about it.
And then they made their own decision.
The family doctor trusted her eye and bought three paintings she could already imagine in her home.
The composer saw a still life online and felt enough connection with it to seek out the artist.
And the singer never intended to become a collector at all. A shared emotional moment simply led to a painting—and then to a friendship.
The last couple said that they saw some message in it.
This is why I believe choosing art is so personal.
There is no universal formula that can tell you which painting you should love.
There are useful principles.
There is experience.
There is knowledge.
There is good advice.
But ultimately, there is you.
Your home.
Your memories.
Your feelings.
Your way of seeing the world.
And perhaps this is the real success we have been talking about throughout this Guide.
You began by thinking:
"I need something for that empty wall."
Now you can look at a painting and ask a much more engaging question:
"Could this become part of my life?"
If the answer is yes, you are ready.
Ready to stop searching endlessly.
Ready to look at paintings with confidence.
And ready to take the next step.
I AM READY TO START. → (Please tap on the red button below.)