Blake Lively's passion - collecting art

Blake Lively loves collecting art.

The Gossip Girl star has been a huge fan of paintings ever since her brother Eric encouraged her to start her own collection and revealed she now always buys new art when she is away on location filming.

“My brother Eric thought it was important for me to collect art and have an awareness of it at a young age. He took me to an exhibit by Sage Vaughn at a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles and bought me my first piece. That experience ignited a hunger to see more art and collect it however I could,” she said.

“I always try to buy things when I travel as a reminder of the trip and time spent in a city. When I was working in New Orleans for four months, I bought a chair and a painting of Audrey Hepburn by local artist Sarah Ashley Longshore.”

While Blake’s collection is varied, she admits she is drawn to a certain type of art.

“I’ve found that I’m often drawn to pieces that portray a childish imagination with a malevolent undertone, like the moment on the boat in Willy Wonka when all the fantasy turns on itself into the unexpected,” she said.

“In every piece I own there is a sense of celebration, whether in image, context, or shade.”