“There isn’t a day that I don’t walk by that thing and just absolutely love it,” she said.

A serigraph by painter James Michalopolous, “Turnbuckle” is a night scene set in the French Quarter. It features a tall, illuminated two-story home with white pillars, and offers an undeniable sense of movement.

“The house is completely lit up and it constricts in the middle. It pinches in, almost like a woman’s waistline, and then it opens up at the top. The house looks like it’s dancing,” she said.

For her, it’s an unforgettable piece of art she just had to have.

“I saw it the very first day that I got there, within the first hour. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The last thing I did before I left was buy it,” Larkham said.

Personal connection

Larkham and other local artists say this personal connection is vital when considering buying a new piece of art for your home.

Larkham, a member of the Pastel Society of NH, said an attachment to art can come from almost anywhere, even nostalgic memories.

“I try to direct (customers), not necessarily to something that matches their home, the paint on their walls, but something that moves them, something that they connect with, or that they have a connection to on a deeper level,” Larkham said.

Artist Betsy Craumer of Creative Ventures Gallery in Milford agrees it’s one of the biggest motivators. For example, buyers can admire the artist’s technique, or the way the work inspires a feeling or a location.

“It may be they want to live by the beach. They really like the sound of the ocean. Most of the time it sparks some kind of memory or emotion in the buyer.”

Craumer mentioned two pieces of art she personally likes. An oil painting of cows in a field by Karen Bruson of Hollis brought to mind Craumer’s time on a farm. What stands out for Craumer were Bruson’s unusual color choices for the cows. Instead of the standard blacks, whites, and browns, these cows possess shades of green, orange, and turquoise.

“They work so well and (are) so vibrant. There’s colors in there you do not associate with cows at all, but they work,” Craumer said.

At the same time, the more the buyer knows about art, the more information they have to make a decision. Another of Craumer’s favorites is a color woodcut by Lyme artist Matt Brown. It’s a winter wooded scene set with muted grays and blues. In that case, Craumer admires the artist’s technique.

But even without technical knowledge, a buyer can still develop a deep relationship with the art.

“If someone knows about art, they’re going to look a little bit deeper. For the casual observer ... it’s just a quiet scene in the woods,” Craumer said.

Need and/or want

Artist Peter Batchelder said the decision to buy should not always be based on what would look “good” on a particular wall.

“Buyers of my work have told me that coming across a piece and feeling some immediate emotional attachment was the impetus ... more so than needing to fill a space in their home,” Batchelder said through email.

“In my experience, buyers buy for two reasons. They need a piece of art, or they want a piece of art. I can only suggest that buyers base their decisions on pieces that affect them, that make them feel they could live with the piece,” he added.

Batchelder noted that having time to make the decision without pressure is key — time to look at the piece of art, time to decide whether it fits their budget and their home, and time to make the final decision.

“Time and going with your gut usually helps the decision be made,” he said.

Commission work

If you’re still having trouble finding that special piece, consider getting it on commission, where the potential buyer will collaborate with the artist to create a custom work of art. The buyer might provide a photograph of an image they want translated into art, or they might dictate certain aspects of the image; for example, having an orange sun instead of a red sun.

Larkham said a customer in Colorado commissioned a painting based off a picture he took of a roadside church. The buyer sought a typical New England fall setting created around the church.

“We were using photographs to come up with the painting that he had in his head,” Larkham said.

Larkham obliged by taking a picture of a local church with a scenic background.

“He added the elements that he wanted and took out the elements he didn’t want,” she said.

Complementing frame

Finding the right frame for a painting or piece of art is another part of the process. Batchelder, Craumer and Larkham all say the frame the art is presented in comes in doesn’t necessarily have to remain once it’s in the buyer’s home.

Larkham said even she used to have trouble figuring out which frame to use, but received some helpful advice from a friend and frame-maker.

“You want to frame it so that it highlights the art. It’s not about the frame,” she said.

And if you’re framing something yourself, it’s best to keep things basic to start.

“If somebody buys it and they love the painting, they can always change out the framing at some other point,” she said.

That’s when an artist might ask the buyer what style their living space is, and how other art there is displayed.

Preserve the piece

Once you’ve chosen the art, it’s time to figure out how to preserve it for generations.

“You’re protecting your investment. You want to make sure that you are able to enjoy it for a lifetime,” Larkham said.

Protecting the art depends on what type of art it is.

Larkham and Craumer, both pastel artists, talked of going to great lengths to protect their canvas from the punishing rays of the sun at outdoor exhibits, and said the buyer should consider doing the same. That means keeping it out of harsh sunlight and placing it under the right type of glass, like conservation or museum glass. Both types are 99 percent UV protected.

“Anytime you have an original work of art, we always suggest, even with the UV protection, not to have it in the direct sunlight,” Larkham said.

Take care, because the price of museum glass can etch into your budget a bit.

“The museum glass is a non-reflective, so it ends up costing like four times as much. But when you look at it, you don’t see the glass,” she added.

Batchelder said his medium, oil on canvas, is a bit hardier when it comes to outdoor elements.

“Oil paint is pretty resistant to fading, but if a piece were in all-day direct sun, I would worry that over time there could be some fading. But unlike other mediums (watercolor, gouache, pastel), which are either water soluble, or done on paper, greater care needs to be taken, as those surfaces and mediums are more prone to damage,” he said.

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Susanne Larkham is webmaster for the Pastel Society of NH. Find her at www.susannelarkham.com. “It’s Pastel! 13th annual National Juried Show” runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 30 at the Pastel Society of NH.

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“Small Works-BIG IMPACT” runs from Nov. 2 to Dec. 31 at Creative Ventures Gallery in Milford, owned by Betsy Craumer. Visit www.creativeventuresfineart.com to learn more.

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Peter Batchelder’s gallery, Powers Gallery, is in Acton, Mass. Visit his site at peterbatchelder.com.