Problem: You just moved into a new apartment and need to decorate its sad, bare walls (since your landlord won't let you paint them). You've been wanting to start your own personal art collection, but the high cost of entry has prevented you from breaking into the grown-up market.
Solution: Get it on the cheap. Take advantage of the affordable prices (works range from a hundred to a few thousand dollars) at Open Studios, and buy art straight off the artists' walls.
The 36th Annual Open Studios kicks off this weekend. From now through the end of October, you can stroll through more than 900 artists' spaces, get a feel for their working life, and support their craft (by buying a piece or maybe just signing up for their mailing list). Here, a sampling of 15 of the artists that stand out from the multi-talented pack.
Weekend 1: October 1–2, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Mission, Noe Valley, Bernal Heights, Castro, Excelsior
Liz Hickok, Michael Kerbow, and DK Haas: These three work cityscapes in an alternate reality kind of way using a variety of mixed media, photography, and painting.
Robert Reed: Inspired by satellite imagery, Reed creates surreal paintings from a macro-perspecrtive.
Laura Buss: Her most recent work studies mummy bundle burials inspired by archaeology. The paintings from this series are morbid in the most beautiful way.
Prudy Kohler: A more melancholy spin on the Faberge egg, you would never guess that her designs are works of photographic transfers.
Weekend 2: Weekend 2: October 8–9, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Ocean Beach, Sunset, Richmond, Duboce, Eureka Valley, Hayes Valley, Haight, Upper Market, Diamond Heights, Buena Vista, Mount Davidson, Twin Peaks, West Portal, Glen Park
Elizabeth Fracchia: The sinister, shadowed figures in her oil paintings are haunting.
Weekend 3: October 15–16, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
SOMA, Tenderloin, Potrero Hill, Bayview
Marcia Stuermer: An interesting mixed media spin on the microscopic, cellular world
Phillip Hua: A perennial favorite, Hua is interested in the intersection of painting and contemporary society. His inked tree blossoms printed on newspaper speak to the relationship between nature and technology.
Weekend 4: Weekend 4: October 22–23, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Fort Mason, Marina, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, North Beach, Financial District
Linda Fitch: Trained as a fine art photographer, Fitch is becoming one of the few to keep the darkroom tradition alive.
Weekend 5: Weekend 5: October 29–30, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios
Jenny Robinson: Working with large-scale prints, Robinson illustrates urban environments in various states of decay and renewal. Some of the best example of printmaking at its finest.
Pernilla Persson: In her String of Life photo series, Persson brings the organic into the world of the abstract.
Pep Ventosa: Ventosa's painterly photographs are wispy layers of delicious watercolor texture.
Open Studios, October 1–30, artspan.org
