My Affordable Art: Blythe Bolton

In my day-to-day role working as Fair Director, I spend a lot of time carefully considering artists’ techniques, backgrounds and exhibitor suitability for our fairs. However, when it comes to buying art for myself, I’m completely impulsive.

I enjoy the experience of an artwork revealing it’s magic to me after I’ve committed to it. It connects me to the same excitement I had when we bought CDs and vinyls not knowing what the songs on the album sounded like.

I bought this lovely little painting ‘Color Ink,’ back at Affordable Art Fair Brussels in 2022, our first post-pandemic fair in Europe, where we worked together on a series of workshops with artist duo, We Are Out of Office. ‘Calm confidence’ is the phrase that comes to mind when I reflect on this artwork and on that overall collaboration with Felix and Winneke. 

I’m a bit of a word geek so the spelling of ‘color’, as a British-Irish person, challenges my self-righteousness when it comes to spelling! Words should be allowed to lose their ‘u’s abroad if they want to. Meaning’s what ultimately matters. 

Over time, this work has prompted me to consider how a small, every day object like an ink cartridge can connect us to a whole web of memories if we give it a small amount of consideration; my Dad’s direct mail business, queues in the university library, the amusing but infuriating colleague who printed every email to read before responding.

I also love this painting’s size, it hangs quite nicely next to the intercom; two inanimate friends on the wall.

My advice to any first time collector would be to trust yourself. Art doesn’t have to be complicated.

If you’re standing in front of an artwork that’s sparked your curiosity and that you’re financially comfortable buying, try closing your eyes and asking yourself very simply ‘Do I want this to be mine?’

Listen for an answer, whether it’s yes or no, and proceed accordingly.

Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam takes place this Autumn from 1 – 5 November 2023 at De Kromhouthal.