A Cozy Creative Life

My love of auctions probably started long before I ever began going to them myself. My grandparents loved auctions, and I think some of that appreciation for the hunt—and for the unexpected things you might discover—was passed down to me.

Sometimes the things I’ve brought home weren’t anything I had planned to buy at all. And sometimes, as I discovered with this painting, the best find of the day is something you almost miss entirely.

Many years ago, I went to an auction that I only attended occasionally. It was different from the auction I usually went to. At my regular auction, the items being sold were displayed on two computer screens, so no matter where you were sitting, you could get a good look at what was coming up for bid.

At this auction, they simply held each item up.

From where I was sitting, I couldn’t always see very well what people were bidding on. Apparently, on this particular day, I missed something I would have loved to bid on.

After the bidding was over, I stood up and finally got a good look at what the auctioneer had just sold.

It was a beautiful floral oil painting surrounded by a mirrored frame.

I had never seen anything quite like it.

The auctioneer had set the painting behind him instead of immediately taking it to the person who had won it. I asked one of the helpers who had bought it and how much she had paid. He pointed out an older woman in the crowd.

I walked over to her and told her how much I admired the painting. Then I asked if she would consider selling it to me.

To my surprise, she said yes. She told me she wasn’t really sure where she would put it anyway.

She sold it to me for $20 cash.

I couldn’t believe my luck. I had completely missed the chance to bid on the painting, yet somehow I was going home with it after all.

The painting hung in my dining room for many years. I especially loved the unusual mirrored frame. I had never owned anything quite like it, and it became one of those pieces that seemed to belong in my home.

Eventually, when I had the house painted, the painting came down. For a while, I wasn’t quite sure where I would hang it again.

Recently, I decided it was time to bring it back out. I’m putting it in the spare room I use for podcasting, puzzles, and other creative projects.

It will be sharing the room with another one of my favorite bargains—my $7 pink chairs. Somehow, the painting and those chairs seem perfectly at home together.

I love that pieces found years apart, in completely different ways, can eventually end up together and feel as though they were meant to be in the same room.

Looking at the painting now, I still think about how easily I could have missed it altogether. I never actually won it at the auction, but somehow it came home with me anyway.

And perhaps there’s a lesson in that.

Always carry a little extra cash to an auction.