It has been my dream to own one of those authentic oil painting on canvas ever since we bought our house. It would be a centerpiece for my featured wall in the living room. But such paintings usually cost a bomb and because they were SO expensive plus the fact that I am such a typical fickle-minded woman, to single out a masterpiece and live with it for the rest of my life seems like a HUGE commitment. So instead of taking the risk, I ended up with many cheap reproductions from Ikea which gave me the freedom to replace them whenever I fancy. Even so, I am always on a lookout for good bargains.
So when I saw these at the market place during our recent Nice trip. I was delighted, overjoyed, exhilarated! I had to own one of these! Not just because of how much I loved the bold and jubilant colours but because they were REAL oil paintings on REAL canvas, the artist even had his initials on the paintings. What’s more, he was selling them at really CHEAP price, the cheapest we had seen so far. The artist was one of those people we spoke to during our trip.
The artist who appeared to be in his early forties was ex-military. He was with the French Army and fought the war in Afghanistan.
He was parachuted into war zone, fought the Talibans, broke his ribs, survived and came back to tell the story.
Thereafter, he left the Army. With his pension, he moved to Nice and painted for a living. When we saw him, he had his paintings stored in a caddy, similar to those used for grocery shopping and displayed his works on the ground. He was funny to talk to, very cheerful and jovial.
It appeared to me that he didn’t care much about being rich or famous. He seemed happy and contented, selling his paintings at a local market and it dawned on me that, maybe for someone who had survived war and escaped death, money and status might have lost their relevance. To live and be alive may be all that matters.
For me, I was simply thrilled to finally own a piece of art . Thrilled not because of the name behind the work nor because I could appreciate the brush strokes that were used but simply because I have met the painter, talked to him and heard his story.
That’s a masterpiece! Beautiful!
I’d always loved to own an oil painting too. But, like what you’ve said, they are expensive! Will be satisfied if I can own even one of these one day.
That’s a very beautful piece! simply beautiful…
hey girls,
it sure is a great masterpiece
sorry my dear. you know why this type of ptg is so cheap? i m not trying to “po len shui” – but it’s actually reproduction mass from cn. 1 piece is only about $2.00. I have the contact where you can whole sale it, like factory production…sorry miss. just to share with you. thank God you bought it cheap, otherwise heart break.
hey rus,
really ah…i will be so sad if it is like what u said!
really loh… told u first so that next time u dun fall into same trap. actually if u travel everywhere, you could see similar style ptg sold (maybe because u r not in the line so cannot tell). But just take it that u r helping the “artist” for another day of living…anyway, not all famous artists are also really ‘ethical’. :p