FAQs

FAQS

How to begin buying art

Buying art is often depicted as a pass time for the elite. Creative Debuts is here to change that perception through the democratization of art. Anyone can buy art. Buying art for beginners doesn’t need to be complex. First off – where to buy art? A great place to start is with emerging artists. The value of buying art from an emerging artist is that you are getting in early, you are supporting the artists that need it most.

When thinking about where to start buying art it does not need to be complex, there is no correct answer with collecting art. Yes, it is an investment because art can increase in value over time. However, our take is that you should simply buy art that you love. If it goes up in value that is a bonus.

 

Tips when buying art:

 

  1. Set your budget

  2. Find your style - research artists and get comfortable with your favourite types

  3. Think about where it is going to hang, the colour scheme and the style of the space

  4. Authenticate your purchase - our limited-edition prints are authenticated via a digital certificate on the block chain, ensure you have some form of authentication

  5. Take care of your art – see our top tips for taking care of artwork

  6. Get it framed properly - we recommend non reflective glass and high quality frames

How to take care of artwork

As an aspiring art collector, you need to know how to ensure your artwork lasts and how to prevent artwork from damage. Here are our tips for caring for artwork:

  • Keep artwork out of direct sunlight. This will avoid cracking, fading, and degradation

  • Never lean anything against the surface of your artwork

  • Store artwork in a strong tube. Creative Debuts uses acid free tissue paper and bubble wrap in the tube

  • When storing multiple framed artworks, place a piece of card between them when stacking them together

  • Dust artworks with a clean, soft rag occasionally to prevent dust build-up if they are exposed, NEVER use liquid cleaner or water

  • Hang artworks away from messy areas so that they do not accumulate dust, dirt, and pollutants. For example, hang away from the kitchen where cooking oils are prevalent, and away from garden entrances where insects and bugs can land on the artwork and mark it

  • Wrap artwork carefully whenever it is going to be transported. Use cardboard on both front and back of framed works to protect it. Use bubble wrap and acid free tissue paper and place in a suitable cardboard tube if not framed.

  • NEVER handle artwork in a rough or careless manner. Be careful with your artwork.

  • Avoid extreme dryness, humidity, heat, and cold environments. Extreme conditions, or changes in conditions can impact the state of your artwork in a negative way

Buying art for investment

Buying art for investment purposes can be approached from many different angles. And many people ask is buying art worth it? We would argue that it is not if the only reason you are buying art is to sell it.

Here at Creative Debuts, we are all about emerging art and the love of art. Most of the time emerging art will be more affordable than buying an established artist’s work. Emerging art has a social good element to it as you are supporting an emerging artist. However – this should not prevent you from viewing the art you buy as an investment.

Emerging artists are not established, and therefore if successful will be on an upward trajectory to establish themselves. These artists are breaking new ground. They are the future of art. Ultimately it is this cohort that is most likely to develop a new medium or style. You may end up investing in an artist that is at the pinnacle of the industry in 20 years.

Why is buying art important? Because art enriches life, crosses divides, breaks down the complex into the intuitive, and is good for your emotional and psychological health.  

Financial gain is secondary from our perspective. And we don’t encourage people to simply try and ‘pick a winner’. Buy art you love, from artists that you love. And the rest will fall into place. 

How to buy art for your home or living space

When buying art for the home colour schemes, matching furniture, and high-quality finishes are important. But artwork sets a great interior apart from a good one.

A key piece of advice for interior design is to use neutral colours when painting rooms. This will give you more scope when choosing artworks. As most artworks will look good against a white background.

If you are not confident, consider a minimalist approach with neutral style and colour scheme artworks. This is pretty much guaranteed to go with anything. However, art does not necessarily need to align perfectly with the style or scheme of the room. A mixture can work just as well as a minimalist space, it is just harder to perfect!

As always, more important than anything is that you love the artwork personally. Don’t be too swayed by what others think. Go with your gut.

Finally – get it framed, preferably with non-reflective glass. To be safe go for wood, white, or black frames. However, there are some very creative framing options for bolder, daring collectors! If you buy from Creative Debuts, you can email us and quote your order number and we will advise.

Buying art for tax

We get asked this sometimes! If you sell your art on for a profit. It is subject to capital gains tax. One way to avoid this is to keep it forever, collect for the love of collecting.

Buying art to launder money

Yes this happens! In the world of fine art, and more recently the world of NFTs, art is used by some uber wealthy people to avoid tax, and by some criminal enterprises to launder money.

This is done through selling artwork back and forth between on shore and off shore companies, and through inflating the value of art then donating it as charitable gift to offset against tax bills. 

This is the antithesis of what we stand for at Creative Debuts. Invest in the future of art because you love art and care about the emerging art scene. And the rest takes care of itself.

Buying art as a gift

Art is an amazing gift, here are the top 3 reasons to buy artwork as a gift:

 

  1. Incredibly thoughtful: compare two ends of the spectrum, at one end you have the humble pair of socks. At the other end it’s a piece of artwork that is beautifully framed, aligned with the persons décor, and stylistically matched to their taste!
  2. High impact: nothing says I love you, or value your friendship more than a piece of limited edition artwork. It takes time, energy, and you need to know and understand the person to get it right. And its on their wall – they won’t forget!
  3. Practical and fanciful: there is a place in the world for both the fanciful and the practical gift. A good artwork is both! It is an investment and a luxury simultaneously.

Buying art near me, and where to buy art locally

The best way to buy art locally is to visit local exhibitions. The next best way is to find an emerging artists on the Creative Debuts platform that is local to your area! We are adding artists all the time, and feature artists from all over the world.

What is the difference between an nft and a digital artwork

Bitcoin. Crypto. NFTs. If you have your finger even remotely on the pulse of the financial world or the artworld - you will be hearing these term. From buying art with bitcoin (or buying art with crypto tokens if you are more advanced) to buying artwork NFTs – this scene is growing fast.

Digital artworks, displayed online, traditionally would have drawn lots of attention on social media in the form of likes, shares, comments. That’s all changed with the advent of the block chain technology, and the rise of the NFT.

NFTs ensure that it is possible to own an original piece of digital artwork. Artwork is created as a ‘Non-Fungible Token’ the ownership details exist on the block chain. Only one token is created, it is not replicable, and it can’t be corrupted or plagiarised.

Some argue that this doesn’t make logical sense. Anyone can view an artwork on a screen. But that doesn’t matter. It is the ownership that matters. And in art, it always has. The next generation see digital assets and avatars as being every bit as real and important as a physical asset. And there is no right or wrong here, it is simply about perspective, and confidence in the digital world.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on NFTs, and the industry is not slowing down. Creative Debuts will move into the NFT space over the coming years – with a focus on the emerging artist of course! Watch this space.