Savage Gallery has a benevolent bent
After several years on the local art fair circuit and a couple in partnership with a gallery on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, artist Shawn Savage has made a place for himself with his own gallery and event space near the airport.
The 2,000-square-foot Savage Gallery & Boutique, which opened about 15 months ago, allows him to pursue all his varied creative and community interests from one location. In addition to displaying his own work, these include promoting other artists, raising funds for animal rescue efforts, and hosting events that take the standard gallery exhibit opening up to the level of full-blown party.
Primarily a painter, but also a sculptor and mixed-media artist, Savage has attracted a clientele drawn to his bright and upbeat styles and also his relatively affordable prices.
“I’m a working artist in the same sense as an interior designer,” he said. “I work within their budget.” Nearly all of his pieces are created on commission, with prices commonly ranging from about $300 to $1,200.
“They see a style they like of mine and they say, ‘I’d like this style in this color scheme,’ and that’s kind of how it works for me,” he said.
The 45-year-old Desert Hot Springs resident said most of his clients are over 50 and seeking cheerful art because “they’re looking to reinvent their lives; to put some fun in their lives.”
As a self-described “yard sale guy,” Savage also uses his gallery space for the arrangement of many of his thrifty finds to help show how his art works in a home environment. The displays help his customers visualize what sort of artworks will work in their own homes.
Also among the works shown at the Savage Gallery are several by artists he is helping to promote. He met one at the gentleman’s yard sale.
Some of Savage’s most prolific work includes many dozens of paintings for his Savage Pets line. Proceeds from the sale of these artworks benefit local animal rescue agencies.
The gallery has also been the site of several different upbeat events — even a Tupperware party — with each designed to be a fun and welcoming way of attracting browsers and buyers to his own works and those of other artists.
“A lot of galleries have art shows,” Savage said. “We have events.”
The Savage Gallery & Boutique, at 870 Research Dr., Suite 1, Palm Springs, is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Monday. For more information, call (760) 464-5978 or visit www.paintingsbysavage.com.