I didn't have much time to browse, but I did see this painting, The Two of You, by Tahnee Lonsdale and it pulled me right in. It sells for £1,600 (roughly $2,500) and rents for £55/month...
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| The Two of You, by Tahnee Lonsdale, 2011, acrylic and charcoal on wood board |
Then I clicked through to the artist's profile and found that I liked a lot of her other work as well...
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| Bear Is My Only Comfort, by Tahnee Lonsdale, 2011, acrylic and charcoal on wood board |
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| Tiger, My Love, by Tahnee Lonsdale |
Are you loving Tahnee Lonsdale's work too? I am dying over Tiger, My Love but it looks like it's been sold.
What do you think of the Rise Art concept? Would you ever rent art for a while before committing to buy it?
Rather than being a Netflix for art, Rise Art is clearly using the term "rental" to mitigate buyer's remorse and help people ease into buying original artwork by giving them an out. Purchasing art is very daunting for some because it's relatively expensive and seems like a permanent bond with a semi-superfluous item that you just "met." It's kind of like marrying some really fun and exciting stranger in Vegas...and Rise lets you spend a bit more time with the stranger before tying the knot ;) You can even meet the stranger's parents (aka the artist). Artists represented on Rise have individual profiles and are part of a community that allows buyers to connect directly with them. Overall, I think it's a pretty cool concept and it will be interesting to see if it makes it over to the US soon. One of the co-founders, Scott Phillips, is from San Francisco so I wouldn't be surprised if it does!
