Thrifty Acres: Art Work From Paris

Hello! To celebrate the very last bit of snow melted away from our property today (front yard faces north, so that section took awhile), I decided to frame an artwork I'd gotten awhile back:

The piece is a watercolor with pencil and is a stylized rendering, I believe, of a vase of tulips. Not visible are the words "Paris 2003" on the lower left-hand corner of the painting. On the opposite lower corner are the initials "YB".

A close-up of the painting:

Nice colors and shading, I thought. 

The painting came with a white mat, and on the back of the mat are the words "Montmatre Paris 2003 Yolande Burie" - (that name is obviously what the "YB" on the front stands for).

So, okay, the painting didn't come from Paris recently, and I can't prove that it was actually purchased in Paris, but it seems likely. An online search revealed a write-up of a Spanish tourist's visit to Paris, in which a mention was made of buying Yolande Burie's art at a gallery in the Montmatre neighborhood. Alas, a check of that gallery's website revealed no information on Ms. Burie. The Spanish tourist's post was from 2007, so perhaps Ms. Burie is no longer painting - or at least is no longer having her works sold at that particular gallery. 

I added two additional mats in coordinating colors and then popped everything in a wooden frame painted a pale white. 

So, how much would a 8x10 triple-matted, framed watercolor normally cost? The artwork alone must have cost a little something when purchased in Paris. I admit, the frame is not of super-high quality, and I don't know if the mats had been been cut to order or just purchased off the shelf from a store that sells framing supplies. Still, if everything had been purchased brand new, the price likely would have added up.

I can tell you my cost, though:

Yolanda Burie painting: 50c
8x10 wooden frame: 69c
Double mat set: $1.00

These low prices were courtesy of local thrift stores, of course. 

Thus, for under two bucks, I have a nice framed work of art. And that's worth celebrating along with the melting of our snow!