Stuff Rich People Love

#47 - Being Artistic

Being Artistic
Price: Stimulating the Right Brain

Rich people love to create art. Explore the home of any rich person and you are bound to see pieces of art that they have completed. Their sculptures, their pottery and their paintings of mediocre artistic value will be displayed in prominent places throughout the estate. For a true artist, who is ironically poor, their craft is a spiritual release that expresses dark, deep seated and misunderstood emotional baggage. For the rich, being artistic is an opportunity to mimic other artists using pretty colors; it is the emotional equivalent of paint by numbers.

Despite the lack of talent rich people display when being artistic this is a terrific opportunity to make friends with the wealthy. Rich people like to talk about themselves so getting them started on their latest hobby is the perfect segue to a self involved conversation. There are obvious questions that you can ask about the canvas, the paint and the choice of subject but these are unlikely to flatter your host, which is why they started painting in the first place. Instead, ask reasonably transparent, aggrandizing questions like whether they have insured their works, which artists are their inspiration and whether they intend to have a gallery showing. Obviously, there is to be no gallery showing unless the family runs one but they will appreciate the compliment. Ingratiating yourself through faux admiration of their art will most certainly be remembered.

While asking questions that compliment the artiste is an important skill, it is equally important that you avoid potentially embarrassing questions. Topics include how long they have been creating art, where they studied, the underlying message of their art and how many pieces they have sold. All of these lead to awkward silences that speak to an absence of commitment and the passing nature of their new found hobby. Soon enough, the easel and paintbrushes will join the tripod, camera and darkroom, the piano, the chef’s knives and countless other hobbies given up after a few months to make way for the next big thing. Enjoy their art while you can because in a few months you’ll be complimenting them on the beautiful floral arrangement or spectacular cakes they decorated. While there may be a creative genius trapped in every rich person, it might be afraid to come out and see what it has created to date!

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