I admit it. I don’t know much about the stock market. I’m doing alright though, thanks to my stock broker. Without him, I would have no overall plan for investing and no clear sense of my financial goals. At first, I wasn’t even aware of what my financial goals were beyond “having enough money.” With his guiding questions and advice, I realized that I am comfortable with a medium amount of risk and that while retiring comfortably at a reasonably young age is very important to me, having a six-month rainy day fund is even more important. However, I still have no idea which stocks will do well or which stocks will give me a diversified but harmonious portfolio. With his continued support and willingness to inform, I’ll eventually understand enough to handle my finances more independently. For many art collectors, building an art collection can be just as overwhelming as building a stock portfolio is for me. I became an art broker around a year ago when I realized that my experience in the art world and with my own collection could be of help to people around me.

When I started my art collection 17 years ago, I was lucky to have been surrounded by hundreds of artists, appraisers and other art professionals that were more than happy to help me learn how to build an art collection that reflects who I am even as I grow and change. I’ve been able to watch bronze sculptures created from wax to pour, see a painting or sculpture develop from conception to display and take classes with artists that I admire to learn more about a medium. At length, I have been able to discuss issues of preservation, value, forgeries and connoisseurship with appraisers. Art collectors have always been in my midst, exuberantly sharing their love for their most recent purchase. It feels like I have been enrolled in art school for 32 years. If I had grown up with a stock broker as a father, rather than an artist, I would probably know enough by now to create my own stock portfolio. Unfortunately, I might really struggle with building an art collection!

Because art collectors struggle with similar issues as stock collectors, they need an art broker. Collectors aren’t always sure if the art they like is worth what they are paying. They aren’t sure if what they like is “good” and are afraid that they have bad taste. Sometimes, they aren’t even sure of what they like. More often than not, they collect art with no overall plan. As a result, they find themselves either not buying something that they wished they had or worse, putting up a new piece and realizing that it doesn’t look like it did in the gallery or that it isn’t consistent with their other pieces. An art broker can inform their purchases, educate them about high-quality, original work in their price range. They can help collectors understand that their preferences are valid and guide them while they build a harmonious art collection that reflects who they are and what they enjoy. Similar to my stock broker, I enjoy watching my clients become independent and confident about their purchases. My clients should be able to go on vacation and purchase a piece on their own that they still adore when they get home. I have a little etching from Mexico depicting a cathedral behind a tree loaded with oranges that greets me every morning in the bathroom. I didn’t have much money left and I had to sacrifice a little for the rest of the trip but I loved it so much that I couldn’t leave without it. I know it leaves me with a far better feeling than those few more shots of tequila would have!

I didn’t start out as an art broker. For eight years I enjoyed teaching elementary school students. But something started to happen in my soul. I became possessed by the family obsession: art. My entire life, I watched as my dad, Dave Davis, help create an art community in Grand Junction. He helped to get an art curriculum in the schools, founded Art on the Corner, helped to establish the Committee on Arts and Culture and was the Executive Director of the Western Colorado Center for the Arts for nine years. He has worked hard to advocate for the arts in this community. Eventually, his efforts resulted in him being a recipient of the 2000 Colorado Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and most recently, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Downtown Association.

While Dad was busy promoting art, I started my own art collection in 7th grade. I fell in love with a Jac Kephart watercolor of a German Brown trout. I saw it and just couldn’t get it out of my mind. I was experiencing resonance. The term resonance describes “a prolonged, subtle, or stimulating effect beyond the initial impact. Something resonates either when it stays in one's memory, or when its juxtaposition to another thing has such an effect.” Kephart owned Jac’s Flowers and Gallery then, so for my entire Christmas break I worked my fingers bloody wrapping wires around thousands of pinecones for bouquets. I swept the floor every half hour. I did everything Jac told me to do for about ten hours a day. I know I still got a bargain because ten days of minimum wage in 1986 did not equal an $800 painting! Since that time, I have collected pieces in many price ranges, in many mediums. I grew to love art and despise a blank wall. Apparently, I despise an empty closet, space under my bed and two feet around the upstairs walls as well! I have so much art now that I can rotate the pieces depending on the effect I’d like to create.

Recently, Dad shifted his focus to his own art and I saw an opportunity to help him promote his work. As I looked around, I noticed that other artists needed help with the business of art. At the same time, both beginning and established collectors I know were struggling with some aspect of their collection. Some felt their collection was a hodge-podge and some didn’t know where to hang their pieces for the best effect or to prevent damage. I received strong feedback about my advice and was encouraged to share what I know more formally. So who am I to buck the family tradition? I started Resonance Fine Art, an art promotions, brokerage, consulting and placement business featuring quality original art from local and national artists. Dave Davis, Charles Hardy, Chapel, Lyn Smith and my sister Amanda Davis are featured on the website. In addition to their work, I have access to thousands of works in specific genres, subjects, media, sizes and price ranges. I’d love to help you answer your art questions

Byline: Keesha Davis at Resonance Fine Art offers fine paintings, limited edition prints, sculpture, photography and more! Go to: www.resonancefineart.com and keep checking in…new artists are added frequently! You can also call 241-0465 or write to resonancefineart@bresnan.net to receive a free consultation and a CD slideshow of images.