Art sale prices discounted 50pc for hard times

Unless a Monet looked good on a lounge wall, it wouldn't stand a chance at the Manawatu Art Sale.

For the 200 people who flocked to the first day of the third annual sale yesterday, big names didn't mean a thing.

Instead, it was the merit of individual paintings which determined whether they sold – from the paltry price of $15 right up to $3000.

Guest artist Romuald Rudski, who was holding daily lectures on how to look at a painting, said people were choosing based on their own individual taste.

And what people like actually says a lot about them, he said.

"If you like a painting, you have to ask `why do I like it?'

"Once you begin to understand what you like about a painting, you can start to develop your personal aesthetic.

"It's like everything in life, a little bit of information helps people enjoy it."

Unique paintings were going for "silly money," he said.

"If you think of the labour costs, these are people who are working for minimum wage to create beautiful works of art – but they do it because they love it."

By lunchtime, 55 paintings had sold and 1045 were ready to be snapped up before the sale closes its doors tomorrow.

Organised by the Feilding and Districts Art Society, the sale is a chance for artists – both locally and nationally – to make a profit off their work.

About 130 artists from Tauranga to Auckland and Wellington were showing their art.

Organisers had noticed the recession having an impact on artists, with works being sold for 50 per cent less than they were three years ago.

Organiser Melissa Haywood said she began the sale in 2008 because she was sick of hearing of artists struggling to sell their work.

The show was run "on the smell of an oily rag," but was growing in popularity and well worth it for the exposure it gave artists.

Tickets are on sale for just $5, and artwork can be taken home as soon as it's paid for.

Rudski's lectures are at 12pm and 2pm today and tomorrow.

- © Fairfax NZ News