Why I Believe Collecting Art Is an Act of Love (and a Smart Investment)

by Pérola Navarro 

There’s a story behind this story.

I’m in my late twenties. I’ve been painting for years, showing in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Miami — and now I’m exhibiting at Red Dot Art Fair during Art Basel 2025 , which is huge for an emerging artist. More than a hundred collectors already live with my pieces, from the small 5x7 works I send through Art in Transit to large paintings that now live in homes I’ve never even seen.

And I started wondering: what do my collectors actually gain by investing in my art right now, at this stage?

The artist’s lifelong commitment

I know what I gain — everything.

Painting isn’t a phase for me. It’s how I make sense of the world, it’s how I connect with people, it’s what I will keep doing for the rest of my life. There’s no backup plan. This is the plan.

So when someone chooses to collect from an artist like me — an emerging artist in her late 20s, still early but already exhibiting, already collected, already doing the work — they’re not just buying an object. They’re entering a story that isn’t finished.

Artists work longer than almost anyone

While I was researching this, I found something that made me smile: painters and visual artists tend to create for 40 to 60 years. We don’t “age out” of our craft the way some performers or influencers do. As Artists Network says, painters really don’t have an expiration date — our work actually gets deeper as we grow.

That alone already changes the way we look at collecting: if the artist is in it for life, then collecting early is like getting the first chapters of a book that will keep being written.

There’s even an academic paper from the Center for Financial Studies comparing early art collectors to early-stage (venture) investors — the ones who see potential before everyone else. That made me think of my own collectors. That’s what they are. Early believers.

Why the 28–35 phase matters

Something else I found: a lot of artists only start being collected more seriously between 28 and 35. That’s the moment where voice + consistency + visibility start aligning. I’m exactly there.

New generations of collectors are actually looking for this — people who love art and want to support artists at the very beginning of their long career, while the work is still accessible. This piece from Artistic Masterclass talks about how millennials and Gen Z are reshaping collecting like that.

So if you collect me now — at 28–30, showing in the US, entering Art Basel week — you’re literally in the room early.

So… what do you gain as a collector?

First, you gain meaning. You’re not buying décor. You’re buying something someone made by hand, with intention, with breath in it.

Second, you gain proximity. Because we’re still early, I can tell you the story behind the piece, I can send a note, I can say “this one was painted in my studio in LA when I was transitioning to a new palette.” That level of intimacy is something big-name artists can’t always offer.

Third, you gain potential future value. If I keep doing what I’m doing — keep exhibiting, keep expanding cities, keep being present at fairs like Red Dot — your early pieces become markers of that path.

What Art in Transit gives you

Art in Transit was my way of making collecting me easy, affordable, and consistent. Every month I send out:

• a signed 5x7" limited print,
• a little letter about the art or what I was feeling/processing,
• and sometimes a seasonal/surprise piece.

It’s small, but it’s intimate. And for a lot of people, it’s the first step into collecting original art.

Why I’m telling you all this

Because I want the relationship to be transparent. I want you to know I am committed to painting for the rest of my life. I want you to know that collecting an artist who is actually working, exhibiting, traveling to fairs, and still accessible — is powerful. And I want you to see that your support isn’t just sweet… it’s smart.