The most valuable art — just might be free.

Over the years, I’ve collected a few original pieces from fellow artists — some trades, some purchases — and sometimes small works from “guys on the street.” You may not know their names, but they are meaningful to me. I treasure all of them.

But just as significant — maybe even more so — are the pieces I find, sometimes on the street, or in this case, on the beach. About ten years ago, on a weekend trip to Santa Barbara, while out for a jog, I (literally) stumbled upon a couple of chunks of someone’s ravaged boat sticking up from the sand. They were worn and a little dangerous, as the ocean had roughed up their fiberglass edges.

But they were beautiful. So I had to ask Josh to help me salvage them to give them the TLC they deserved, along with a rightful place in our home. I might have underestimated their weight, their bulkiness, and their spiky edges. It was a tough haul up to the car. But bless his soul, he made it. The one you see above reminds me of the work by one of my favorite abstract artists, Cy Twombly. (See close-up in Pic #2). Twombly created a compelling black and white “blackboard series” (one of which recently sold for $70-million) in the middle of his career.

It’s always interesting to me how art truly can be found everywhere, we just have to embrace those unexpected stumbles.