Such savers . . . a new type of buyer . . . have now entered the arena and are looking at what they might spend their SSIA money on. It's not easy for the uninitiated to plough their way through the oceans of advice and information surrounding art. Some experts will tell them to take a stocks and shares approach; others to stay in for the long haul; and yet others to turn to fashionable artists and sell them on quickly before their stars wane.

For instance, auctioneer John De Vere considers that there will be a huge revival of interest in traditional artists such as Nathaniel Hone and James Humbert Craig who are slowly coming up on the inside whereas more contemporary artists such as Louis Le Brocquy, John Doherty, Martin Gale and Kenneth Webb are directly in the limelight.

One way or another, people don't want to throw away their hard saved money, and there are guidelines to help them not to do that, which might be useful:

>> Be wary of anything that has been endlessly doing the rounds like a duck in a slow pond endlessly looking for a place to rest . . . which doesn't mean that you couldn't now and again pick up a good picture from this pond.

>> Pick any artist who has a steady reputation.

>> RHA credentials or any credentials, whether Irish, English, European or Russian, give extra clout.

>> Check out the best of what is on offer at the RHA annual exhibition this week. Go early so you can pick and choose . . .

there 520 lots.

>> Contemporary art is becoming more and more popular.

>> Abstract works are currently doing well.

>> There is now interest in the good artists from the 1970s and '80s.

>> The subject matter of a painting doesn't have to have a story behind it, but when it does . . .

such as those that document the social , domestic or topographical issues of any era . . . it can make a painting valuable.

>> A picture should arrest your attention with the sheer good quality of its craftsmanship.

>> People tend to keep subtle well executed paintings longer than loud in-your-face ones.

>> Good artists who are not prolific (ie, those who only produce a small amount of excellent work) are sought after.

>> Works by good artists who have been recently deceased tend to shoot up in price.

>> Ideally, a picture should move you. It should be so in tune with your soul that it makes you say, "I want it, I need it, it will cheer up my dark days; it reaches areas of my being that I didn't know existed, I will borrow on top of my SSIA money to have it."

>> Should you be so lucky to find something which arouses the above sentiments then back up your choice with advice from art experts who may have further information about provenance. There are many self-appointed art experts, many of whom are fine. Those who purchase works for public bodies, such as Patrick Murphy for the OPW, or those who purchase pieces for corporate banks, such as Frances Ruane, or curators of art institutions, such as Catherine Marshall at IMMA and Peter Murray at the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, have been around the block and have trained their eye.

>> The owners of good galleries can be helpful.

>> Ideally it's better if a picture has a provenance and has been written up by art historians.