This story starts several months ago when I was doing one of my regular check-ins on The Creative Exponent Community Facebook page.  I was scrolling through the recent posts and stopped immediately when I spotted a grouping of photos of the most wonderful sketches.  They were pencil sketches and watercolors of English cottages with thatched roofs and half-timber or brick construction.  I was immediately smitten with them and clicked on the caption to find out why someone was posting these pictures on the forum.  Julia of found these antique sketchbooks at a local estate sale (she lives in England) and was asking for advice on how to handle selling such a special find.  My first reaction was, “Sell them to me!!!”  But, I gave a more professional, objective answer.  These are special and they should be researched and perhaps sold at an auction house where they could fetch a high

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the French Art Shop.  I can’t tell you how over-the-moon I am to work with this French-based small business and share them with you.  As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own. In a post earlier this week, I shared that if I were an heiress, I would become an art collector.  While I was referring to collecting works by masters and well-known artists at high-end auctions, I was sort of skipping over a current truth – I am an art collector now.  I might not be collecting Pissaros and Renoirs, but I am displaying my own works and collecting the works of artists I follow on Instagram and a few antique & vintage pieces I’ve bought at antique stores, markets, and online over the years.  In addition, I’ve been collecting “everyday art” for decades in the form of furniture, Civil