Art for Interior Design Los Angeles California

Fine Art by an award winning artist. Clara Berta's works are now more popular than ever, abstract mixed media art for interiors. Judges of art competitions, consumers, business owners, interior designers and more all agree that Clara Berta creates the perfect compositions for interiors.

On display in various art galleries and exhibits. Clara is the artist to get to know!

Visit BertaArt.com 

Mixed Media Abstract Artist in Los Angeles

Clara Berta continues to release impressive new works. Ask about FREE tickets to an upcoming Art Event in Los Angeles. Request Tickets HERE.

Elements of Love by Clara Berta

Visit the site HERE

Art festivals and more coming to Laguna Beach California

The Sawdust Festival and the Pageant of the Masters will be upon us soon.

This year looks like it will be a busy one in Laguna Beach. 

The Sawdust Festival and the Pageant of the Masters is the large

draw for Laguna Beach every year. 

The crowds start around the beginning of June and the area

stays busy until the school year starts back up.

In addition to the impressive shows and all the great places

to eat, there are more art galleries in the Laguna Beach area

than any other nearby southern California community.

Here is an example of a well known established gallery on

Coast Hwy, Pop Art Masters Gallery

You can read about upcoming events in a local Laguna Beach

publication called The Laguna Beach Vibe.

Laguna Beach Art

Rare van Gogh painting and a Giacometti sculpture fetch millions

NEW YORK — A rare piece of artwork painted by Vincent van Gogh weeks before his death sold for $61.8 million Tuesday and a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti took in over $100 million at a sale kicking off New York City's fall art auctions of impressionist and modern art.

Van Gogh's 1890 painting, "Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies," had expected to fetch between $30 million and $50 million at Sotheby's evening sale in Manhattan.

One of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, A. Conger Goodyear, acquired it in 1928. It remained in the family for decades and was on permanent exhibition at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo for 30 years. The most recent owner bought it around 1990.

The auction record for a van Gogh is $82.5 million.

The big-ticket auction at Sotheby's brought in $101 million for Giacometti's "Chariot." The rare 1951 bronze sculpture features an elongated goddess-like figure perched atop a wheeled chariot. The price almost broke the $104.3 million record for the Swiss artist.

The 1951 piece, embellished with paint to enrich the textural quality of the bronze, has been in the same collection for over 40 years. Giacometti made six casts of the "Chariot" during his lifetime. The one sold Tuesday is one of only two painted examples. Another important sculpture sold at the auction was Amedeo Modigliani's "Tete." It fetched $70.7 million, just topping the previous auction record for the artist at $69 million. The deitylike elongated head was carved in 1911 and 1912 from a block of limestone scavenged from a Paris construction site. It had a presale estimate of $45 million. The auction house Bonhams, which is selling more than 700 items from the homes of Lauren Bacall, offered two Henry Moore sculptures from her collection on Tuesday.

"Maquette for Mother and Child: Arms" sold for $281,000, just over its pre-sale estimate high of $200,000, and "Working Model for Reclining Figure: Bone Skirt," sold for over $1 million, topping its presale estimate of $600,000 to $800,000.
The legendary actress' other artwork, jewelry and furniture will be offered for sale in March.

All prices included the buyer's premium.

The major fall sales continue Wednesday at Christie's. Among the highlights is a celebrated portrait of a Parisian actress by Edouard Manet. "Spring" has a presale estimate of $25 million to $35 million.

Marco Toro Art

Marco Toro is an artist and art teacher. Marco teaches in the UK and visits the USA on a regular

basis. Marco will be visiting the Village Gallery in Irvine and Laguna Beach in Oct 2014.

All works are original acrylic on canvas, hand painted by Marco Toro.

   

Ask how to own his works: 310-461-9480

Email any questions.

Internet Art Sales increase, new trend to buy art online

LONDON - The value of the online fine art market is expected to more than double to $3.76 billion in the next five years as it increasingly attracts younger and first-time buyers, British insurer Hiscox said on Monday.

Online art sites do not threaten galleries and auction houses in the same way Internet availability has undermined the traditional movie, book and music businesses, Hiscox said.

But the willingness of younger buyers to make their first purchases over the Internet along with the rapid growth of online sites pointed to the future of the sector, it said in a statement.

"Young collectors are looking for art work which is easy to buy and available at a wide range of prices," Robert Read, Hiscox's head of fine art, was quoted as saying.

"Online art platforms cater for all tastes and budgets, but are particularly effective for those just starting to collect—opening up the art market in a way that is hard to replicate in the real world."

London-listed Hiscox, which underwrites cover for oil rigs, kidnappings, fine art and vintage cars, estimated the value of global online art sales at $1.57 billion in 2013.

In its second annual report on the online art market, in conjunction with market research company ArtTactic, Hiscox projects this figure will grow to $3.76 billion in 2018.

The report's findings are based on a survey of 506 international art buyers on ArtTactic's client mailing list, Twitter and Facebook, Hiscox said.

"Based on these figures, online art buying accounts for 2.4 percent of the estimated value of the global art market, which in 2013 was $65 billion," Hiscox said.

Internet retail giant Amazon had launched its Art portal in the past year and online auction house eBay was reportedly planning a rival platform, it said.

"Significant increased investment into platforms like Paddle8, Artsy and Artspace indicates continued confidence from investors and belief in the long-term potential of these businesses," Hiscox said.

Complementary buying opportunities

Online-only sales would not replace galleries, auctions and other traditional sales channels, it said, but provide an alternative buying opportunity and additional revenue stream.

"The findings indicate that online art e-commerce will not exist as a separate entity—it will augment and co-exist with what is happening in the real, physical art world," Hiscox said.

The report did find, however, that future generations of collectors were likely to make their first art purchases online, with almost 25 percent of 20- to 30-year-olds surveyed for the report saying they first bought art online without seeing the physical piece.

Although 39 percent of respondents said buying art online was less intimidating than at a gallery or auction, having a bricks-and-mortar presence instilled confidence, with 90 percent of online buyers purchasing from a physical space before turning to websites.

Limited edition prints were a popular entry point for online buyers, the report said, with 55 percent of those surveyed having bought a print online in the last 12 months.

The report found that 44 percent of buyers said they had spent more than £10,000 ($16,800) purchasing art and collectibles online so far, with 21 percent of this group saying they had spent in excess of 50,000 pounds.

Nevertheless, seeing the physical object remained important, with 82 percent of those surveyed saying the most difficult aspect of buying art online was not being able to inspect it. — Reuters

Twisted Metal Art

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