LIFE BEYOND FIRST CLASS
ARTS & COLLECTIBLES
ARTIST AND
COLLECTOR
Having been in love with art since an early age, artist and collector, Marina Romanova-Arnott, is now sharing her collection of fine art with the world
“I buy what I love,” says artist and art collector Marina Romanova-Arnott. “That way, even if I don’t sell it, I am very happy to keep it for a long time.”
Admitting she has a preference for provocative art or “art that shakes things up a little bit,” Romanova-Arnott has an eclectic collection that includes works by Dali, Warhol, Hirst, Banksy, Quinn, Murakami and Nara. She also has pieces from newer artists such as Aoshima, Bracey, Dzama and Kelley, as well as photographic art by LaChapelle and Minter.
Romanova-Arnott says she enjoys art that expresses the themes of power and desire. “I guess you could say I like art that challenges people rather than just pleases people,” she says of her taste in art. “The general public thinks that art must be for pleasure, but it can have many other messages.”
A native of Russia who earned her master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Moscow, Romanova-Arnott moved to New York City and then to West Hollywood in the early 1990s. As her life experiences grew and changed, her art developed from impressionism to more of an abstract impressionism with a touch of surrealism.
While she once favored watercolors, the artist currently prefers working in oil and acrylic. “Color is very important to me,” she notes. “I play a lot with color and composition.”
She says that as she grew as an artist, she also began an interest in collecting art. “I began collecting about 12 years ago,” she recalls. “I was travelling a lot and visiting galleries. I would see pieces I loved, and I wanted to have them. My collection grew, and it was just a natural evolution to turn it into a gallery.”
Although she is based in Orange County, California, Romanova-Arnott continues to travel frequently, so she felt that opening her online gallery (Marina4Art.com) made “more sense” than a physical gallery.
Romanova-Arnott paints four to five days out of the week, and she typically is working on three to four pieces at once. “I guess I must get bored easily,” she admits with a laugh. “If everything is flowing, I keep working (on the same piece), but if not, I find it very refreshing to turn to another piece... It gives me more creativity.”
The artist finds inspiration in just about every aspect of life, from movies and videos, to nature, to street art, to fashion, or even old magazines. “Art is definitely something that is part of me,” she says. “I think anyone can learn to paint, but if you don’t have the creative ideas, you won’t paint.”
Romanova-Arnott says she enjoys looking at how her style has evolved since her early days as an artist. “I can see how I have grown from one piece to another,” she explains. “It is a process, and it is something I love. I hope I will always love what I do and will be changing and evolving my style all the time.”
For people who are beginning their own art collection or considering adding to a collection, Romanova-Arnott has this advice: “Buy what you love first of all, but be open to new experiences.”
She recommends that collectors take baby steps with new styles and forms of art, explaining, “You will learn what you like.”
Before buying new pieces of art, Romanova- Arnott suggests that collectors consider if they will still love the art a year or so later. She explains that challenging pieces of art will continue to offer new meanings to the owner for many years.
“I want to always be finding new meanings in a piece,” the artist explains. “I think challenging art is much more rewarding to live with as time goes by.”