• Buying Art From Rainbird
• Buying Contemporary Art
• Selling Contemporary Art
• Valuing Contemporary Art

Buying Art From Rainbird

We make buying art as risk free as possible and understand, after many years of running a high profile central London gallery, that it can be much more comfortable for buyers to consider art in the environment and lighting where it will actually hang, which is usually the home or office. When you see something on our website that you may be interested in please contact us by email using the 'INFO about this artwork' button so that the art is clearly identified. Even if the piece is marked sold please still contact us as we may be able to approach the current owner - or arrange for something similar to be produced by the artist. You can find this 'INFO' button when clicking through on any image to the end display page. When you use this button your enquiry will automatically have the art and the art ID attached to your message so there is no confusion. If you are in the UK and have a space, domestic or commercial, where you may be considering hanging art please feel free to ask our advice and wherever possible we will stop by and offer help and suggestions. Subject to prior appointment this service can operate seven days a week and please see 'Contact' for information on how to contact us.

If, after contacting us and we have answered any queries you may have, you did wish to go ahead and purchase, payment can be made by bank transfer, cash, cheque, credit or debit card and delivery arrangements made accordingly. We accept most major credit cards with details taken by telephone, text message or email as preferred by the buyer. Please note that for payment by credit card we do have to add a 2.5% surcharge to cover the commission charged to us by the credit card companys. We can sometimes hand deliver for London and customers in the south east UK (originals only - editions/prints by negotiation) but may use domestic couriers for further afield and international couriers for overseas. The purchase would be covered by our 7 day return guarantee if you decided not to keep the art. A receipt would be enclosed with the package and a Letter Of Authenticity if requested. Further details on request.

If you should wish to view the art before committing, you can visit us if the art is immediately available, or if you are in London or the Home Counties, where viable we will bring the art to your home or office for viewing. If we do not have the art in the UK we can also ship directly to clients from overseas artists subject to prior negotiation. The 'bringing to you' for viewing service varies according to where you are geographically and the actual timing will depend on if we have the works immediately available at our London or Poole premises. If, after viewing, you do wish to buy the art, we can accept cash or credit cards (as above - note 2.5% surcharge applies) or debit card payments and cheques drawn on British banks from previous clients. We cannot leave art for consideration (see below) without receiving payment as this would ivalidate our insurance and our obligations to the artists.

If a client wishes to have a painting bought to them for viewing and then wishes to retain it for consideration, we can also usually agree to this for 7 days providing payment is made at the time by cash, credit or debit card. If they then decide they do not want to keep the art within the 7 day period we will arrange for the full payment to be re-paid, less any service, delivery or shipping costs, after the art is returned to us in exactly the same condition as it was left. Art must be returned securely packed and, if not by hand, by a fully insured courier with proof of dispatch and delivery as we will not be able to refund for art that is damaged in transit. If we are required to collect the art a pre-agreed service charge, normally around £120.00 will be deducted from the returned payment.

Art Licensing
If you wish to discuss commercial reproduction of any of the art on our website for uses such as brochures, advertising, editorial, cards or jigsaw puzzles etc. please always ask. We have wide experience in the art licensing business and will help wherever we can subject to approval of the artist, copyright and ownership restrictions. NOTE: Copyright to all images on this website remains with Rainbird Fine Art or the creators and reproduction of any form is strictly forbidden without prior written consent.

Buying Contemporary Art (general advice)

Most people want to add a personal touch to their property, something that reflects their taste and really turns where they live into a individual home. Few things say more about us than the art we select for our walls, it may change our mood, enrich our environment or simply remind us of a special place or occasion. We normally live with the art we buy for many years and our children may even inherit it so choosing works that we will still want to live with in years to come can be a thought and time consuming process.

For most of us who buy original contemporary art, choosing it will probably be one of the most personal and subjective choices we make in life. Almost everyone seems to have a different perspective on what they like (the old joke among art dealers is that if a person says "I need to come back with my partner for a second opinion" you can normally forget the sale) and we cannot say how many times people have said to us "I don't like that" or "I could never live with that on my wall" - only for the next person to buy it.

Some people buy 'safe' pictures of landscapes, flowers or still life's - or simply based on if the colour fits in with their current living environment. Others may buy when they are on vacation or because of the subject matter. Some will only buy from artists they know or because they collect a particular artist, while still others will go out of their way to source challenging, edgy, even outsider art that makes a real visual impact when you visit their homes. Whether people actually 'like' a piece of art or not can be related to a myriad of subjective reasoning including all of the above plus technique, colour or monochrome, interpretation of the narrative of a picture and even a frame can have an influence. A painting that some find interesting could be regarded as sinister by a different pair of eyes. Everyone it seems has a different 'eye' and opinion when it comes to what they like and this becomes even more subjective when they are actual buyers of contemporary art, as against the many who only comment.

Our general advice for those who may be new to buying original art is firstly to look at as much as possible and then always and only buy what you personally like. Try not be influenced or persuaded by friend's opinions or those who ''write about art' or 'talk about art' as these people rarely if ever actually buy art. Be wary of the painting efforts of 'celebrities' (and their friends and siblings) as these are often given totally undeserved press hype and gallery exposure while many really talented artists are ignored. Also try not to be swayed by gallery owners (or the glass of wine) or dealers who may 'talk up' a piece. If you are not sure always arrange to have a second look or to think about it. Of course this does mean you run the risk of losing the piece but it is much better to be absolutely sure before you buy - but again, always buy what you really like. Buyers should also be a little wary of 'investing' in the original art of poster and print artists that are often outrageously hyped by their publishing houses ('most popular', 'most published', 'Britains favourite artist' etc.) for their own commercial agenda as often the market may only really exist for the price of the prints. There are a few exceptions of course, Jack Vettriano being one example and his success has been organic and not through hype. Also if viewing an artist's CV or biography do not pay too much attention to the education or 'studied with' or was 'taught by' etc. as many of the more interesting artists in our experience (and historically) are self taught.

If you are interested in whether a purchase may become an 'investment', the answer has to be 'you never know'. In the fickle art world an 'unknown artist' can suddenly become collectable for the most unlikely or lucky of reasons. It can also depend on how serious or astute an artist is in developing their future career, protecting their reputation and retaining the value of their product by continuing to produce high class work. Some can be far too prolific for their product ever to increase significantly during their lifetime. Additionally, in this age of the Internet, some artists will totally undermine the good work a gallery or dealer may have done for them in the past by either under-selling directly via their own websites as their career stalls or through laziness in technique in older age. Again, the very best reason for buying contemporary art should always be that you really like the piece and want to live with it - not for investment purposes. However, if like many of our clients, you do go on to become 'a collector' and build up an eclectic collection of contemporary art, all it needs is for one of those artist's to become 'collectible' and that one painting could underwrite the cost of your whole collection. Finally, the really wonderful thing about owning unique, original contemporary art is that you will own the only one in the world and make no mistake, people do notice when they enter a home if it has unique, original art on the walls.

Selling Contemporary Art (general advice)

Firstly please note it is not always easy to find a buyer for contemporary art just when you want to sell it and particularly a buyer prepared to pay the full value. In the first instance we would always recommend sellers contact the gallery or dealer where they purchased the art to see if they may be interested in purchasing it back. If they are not, despite what is said, you can assume that the art has not increased significantly in value. You can also consider auctioning the piece although returns can be low for 'non collectible' art. If you do not wish to take either of those routes the Private Sales section on our website is provided for private owners wishing to find buyers for previously purchased or inherited art. The art must be original, by known or/and established artists and acceptable by Rainbird Fine Art. This website is constantly promoted and often features highly in Internet search engine results by people looking to buy or sell their art (like you maybe) and it is visited by collectors from around the world on a regular basis. Some collectors will be on our 'alert' list for when certain artists work becomes available and all will receive our Clients Private Newsletter where we will mention new pieces in our Private Sales section. Our two 'Private Sales' services offered are as follows and owners can chose which they would like to use after we have contacted them regarding an enquiry.

Finders Fee NOTE: This' Finders Fee' service is suspended owing to repeat problems with owners negotiating their own sales or/and damage during delivery owing to insufficient packaging, shipping choices etc. We now only offer the 'Full Service' below.
(15% commission) This is an introduction only service when we have received enquiries and subject to the potential buyer's agreement, we pass their contact details on to the owner so that negotiations can be conducted directly between the enquirer and the owner. The owner would be responsible for arranging viewings, taking payment (NOTE: We can by agreement act as 'honest brokers' and take payment by credit card which is only released to the seller after the buyer has received and approved the art) by an agreed method and arranging for delivery. It should be understood that with this 'Finders Fee' introduction only service Rainbird Fine Art cannot take any responsibility for issues that may subsequently arise regarding payments, shipping, damage in transit, misunderstandings or approval by the buyer. We would stay in touch with both parties and after the sale was completed would invoice the seller for 15% of the final agreed sale price - or deduct this from the payment if we had held money as 'honest brokers'. Alternatively owners can ask us to act on their behalf with our 'Full Service' below and we would always recommend UK sellers use the 'Full Service' for non UK sales/enquiries.

Full Service (35% commission) After checking authenticity of enquirer, we would describe the art to the buyer in detail sending additional images where necessary, negotiate between buyer and owner, take secure payment by method agreed before packing and shipping or delivering using our own insured couriers. Any delivery costs to us of the artwork is the owner's responsibility and any shipping/delivery costs to the buyer is the buyers responsibility. Please note that our commission would not include paying the Artist Resale Rights royalty to the relevant collection body if applicable and this may incur a separate small charge. We can fully advise but please see 'Artists Resale Rights' (Droit de Suite) royalty in 'GLOSSARY' for brief details or this link for full details. The buyer would have 7 days after receipt to return the art if not happy with the product. Our settlement to the owner, to include a full remittance advice, would be made after this period had elapsed. If a sale does not proceed there is no charge to the owner.

How to have your art included in 'Private Sales'.
Firstly please note that we cannot value or appraise art (see' Valuing Contemporary Art' below) unless it was originally purchased from us, however we will advise owners if we feel the price requires adjustment once it is included on our site. The art can also be advertised as POA (Price On Application) and the price can be given when enquiries come in. To have work included please use the following 3 point procedure. We cannot comment on any art until we have actually seen good images.

1. Email (address at end of this section) good quality Jpegs (digital camera files) with a head on view and as perfectly square as possible. Include frame if framed but with any glass removed before photographing. NOTE: Jpegs must be at least 600 pixels at 72dpi over the smallest height or width. Please include in your email the complete following A - H details.

A: Your complete details to include full name and address, contact telephone numbers and email address.
B: The name of the artist with any interesting details about them you may have.
C: The overall size of framed painting (if framed) in centimetres.
D. Size of painted area only in centimetres.
E: The technique- oil on canvas, oil on wood, acrylic on canvas or paper, watercolour etc.
F: Is there any damage to the painting?
G: Is the painting signed? Front or back?
H: The price you wish us to advertise it at (please be sure to read 'Valuing contemporary art' below)

2. Submissions will be checked and after that we will contact you with any questions or querys.

3. Subject to agreement and after payment is made (as in 'Charges and commission' below) using debit or credit card or cheque we will then publish the images.

Charges and commission
We charge a small administration fee as follows for optimising and uploading each piece with the relevant information to our website (admin. fee waived if the art was originally purchased from us or if the advertiser is a past client of ours):
1 piece: £25.00 or the equivalent in Euros or US dollars
2 - 5 pieces: £15.00 each or the equivalent in Euros or US dollars
6 - 10 pieces: £10.50 each or the equivalent in Euros or US dollars
10 -12 pieces: £8.50 each or the equivalent in Euros or US dollars
More than 12 pieces: By negotiation. Payment can be made by bank transfer, debit or credit card (see below) or a cheque drawn on a UK bank.
Commission: Finders Fee: 15% of the final agreed sale price. (Explanation above) Suspended
                          Full service:  35% of the final agreed price. (Explanation above)
We require payment of the admin fee before images can be published. If you wish to pay by cheque please request our address or if by credit card (2.5% surcharge applies) or debit card we can call you to take details over the phone. Please advise us which you prefer.
Please note: Admin fees are non returnable and we reserve the right to remove images from our website in the event that Rainbird Fine Art is compromised in any way by actions of its advertisers.

Art may stay on our site for for one year and if a buyer is not found the second year is free at Rainbird Fine Art's discretion. Owners are free to advertise their art elsewhere and we request to be informed if it should sell so we can mark it as sold or remove it from our website. NOTE: As this service is mainly conducted by email and we may need to contact owners urgently, please only use this service if you check your email every 24hrs including when on vacation. Please contact us using the address info@rainbirdfineart.com

Valuing Contemporary Art (general advice)

Again, firstly we would always suggest to contact the gallery or dealer where you puchased the art to see if they can give a current value. Valuing a piece of contemporary art to sell that an owner has bought 'subjectively' (I have just the spot for that in my house, colour, subject, size, artist etc. etc.) on the primary market can be difficult as to achieve the full secondary market value the seller will need to find a buyer who likes the piece as much as they did when they first bought it - or for the same reasons. However it is very often the case that any 'value' will be what buyers are prepared to pay - not what owners think it is worth.

If you are selling the work of a living, still exhibiting artist an idea of their current selling price related to the size and year of the painting, can normally be obtained by researching on the Internet via dealers and other art websites. However this can only give a very general idea of a value as often the artist may have gone through different 'periods' and possibly worked on different materials and this can be particularly applicable to those artists who started their careers as illustrators. It can also be effected by how prolific the artist is or was in their output and if they are still putting work on the open market. Another point is that It is often the case that certain paintings among the output of most artists are just generally 'more liked' by more people and therefore tend to 'ripen' and have a higher potential secondary market value.

If you are selling the work of a deceased artist, who may or may not be regarded as 'known or collectable' again you can research through the Internet but also there are a number of art auction websites that will give the results of auction sales (normally fee payable) which may be able to give auction results for your artist. However be aware that the auction results, if any, may not be what you are hoping for and again the actual picture and when it was painted can make a lot of difference to the 'value'. Auction results are in fact not always a very good place to value individual pieces of art as many of the sales will have gone to dealers who obviously buy as cheaply as possible to sell on. Also they will have had to pay commissions and buyers premiums etc. which are not always reflected in these result prices. However the main auction houses normally will give an idea of auction estimates when asked and their websites normally give guidance on how to approach them. Also read last paragraph of 'Buying cvontemporary art' above.

Rainbird Fine Art cannot value art (unless it was bought from us originally) as there are just so many variables to be considered and in the past we have been used for price checking simply for owners to sell or advertise elsewhere. As we said earlier, often the 'value' will be what buyers are prepared to pay, not what owners think it is worth. If the art is interesting and of good quality a buyer will almost certainly exist but 'that buyer' could be anywhere in the world and that's why having it featured on the Rainbird Fine Art website can help to find that elusive buyer. If you do not want to put a price you can also put the piece on our website with with POA (Price On Application) attached and then when you receive enquiries make a decision on what you would want for it, however POA can deter enquiries. Details on how to approach us can be found under 'Selling Privately Owned Art' above and we prefer by email in the first instance so we can give considered replies.

SOME OF THE ARTISTS FEATURED ON WEBSITE
Sophie AHMAD, Karol BAK, Neil CANNING, Gabriele CAPPELLI, Alan DAVIE, Mark DEMSTEADER, Dilys FINLAY-STEPHENS, Anthony FROST, Chris GOLLON, Maggi HAMBLING, Peter HOWSON, John HOYLAND, Albert IRVIN, Ivan KOCHKAREV, Jerzy KOLACZ, Martin LEMAN, Charles LEVIER, Julia MACMILLAN, MIZZY, Katerina NEVOLINA, Rafal OLBINSKI, Jos Van UIJTREGT, Maurice VERRIER, Penny WARDEN, Tom YOUNG.