Lady Camp -- Oil on Canvas: 12x24

For 27 years, we have not owned a dryer, choosing to hang our clothes up on an outside line or inside rack. Recently, our college aged daughter mentioned that, without trying, we have become ecologically fashionable, and without knowing it, have for years been participating in an earth friendly, trendy, although still not very popular, activity.

When we built our house, I overheard the plumber arguing with my wife about not installing a dryer in the laundry room.

"Think of the re-sale value," he urged. "Your house is an investment."

"It's our home," she replied. "It's the way it is because that's the way we want it, not because someone else wants it that way."

It is often said that art is an investment, and indeed it is, and like many artists, I appreciate it as the valuation of my work rises. At the same time, however, it is intriguing to think of art in the same way that my wife thinks about our house -- it, too, is an investment (and although we never installed the dryer, we did leave room so that a future buyer can do so) -- but first and foremost, it is our home, and it reflects who we are and what we like to do.

How many people have artwork on their walls that they truly enjoy and connect with? My favorite art sales are to clients who love a piece because it reminds them of a place that they used to know, or dream about seeing someday, or simply want to have on their walls to inspire contemplation.

One day at an art gallery, we overheard one patron murmer to another, "I really, really like this painting -- but I don't know -- do you think it would be a good investment?"

I thought to myself, "If you can afford it, and you like it, then buy it, put it on your wall, and enjoy looking at it everyday. Isn't that investment enough?"

Original Oil Painting by Steve Henderson of Steve Henderson Fine Art