apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Go to a website like www.art.com

They have thousands and thousands of prints.

Spend a few days looking at the possibilities and you'll get an idea of what you like. It's a cheap (free) way to expose yourself to what's out there and it's green since you're not driving or even taking public transit all over to the place to see galleries.

I discovered on art.com that I really liked the work of Eric Waugh but never got around to ordering any. Then one day I walked into a Dania store and there was an Eric Waugh piece on sale so of course I bought it on the spot.

Go look at work by metal artist C. Jere too. His wall sculptures might inspire you in a different direction.

Johnathan Adler has a few but there's lots more out there.

http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/home.php?cat=403&gclid=CMWC1a-C6Y0CFQRHYAodUnLRDg

And check out wall sculptures by Artisan House too. They have some modern ones.

I'm kind of partial to this one ("Time Machine") :

http://www.cowboyindian.com/210957.htm

A couple of things to recommend. Go to your local library or book seller and find a book on art and artists so you can learn some of the names of some of the greats like Matise, Mondrian and others, and the various styles like impressionist, cubist, dadaism and realism amongst them so you have some background on what you are looking at.

I also recommend just looking at either online art sites or to actual musums to see what strikes you and that you like.

Also remember art is not limited to paintings, photographs on a wall, but sculptures and such too and there is a range of stuff from poster art to whatever that will fit your budget.

Be patient and go with what you love and do not worry about being matchy, matchy style wise but do ensure some continuity, say in the colors of the various pieces that reflect a limited range of the same part of a pallet say or perhaps the subject(s) being similar are two suggestions.

Have fun with it!

Also, every year, almost every art school in the entire universe holds a student art sale. Sure, some of it is ridiculously priced into order to fool the SUV driving yuppie masses, but there is usually some reasonably priced pieces in the mix. Who knows...maybe you'll pick up something from the next art superstar.

Or, as in my case, you could just make friends with artists and offer to keep or display their work in your home. Artists don't have room to keep ALL their work. Eventually they'll forget you have them (because they are scatterbrained artists) and the pieces will become part of your permanent collection - almost guilt free.

To go along with CiddyGuy - google can substitute for or complement a trip to the library. You can do a ton of research online before you get to the library...google rocks.

Hint - it helps to use a browser that supports tabs, rightclick each link and open all the pages you're using for research info in seperate tabs. Keeps your desktop neat/organized and the info easier to find.

Hi, weird this question came up today after I just wrote in about tomorrow night's art show. It's in the open thread towards the bottom. But it's 7-10pm, at South Union Arts. If you can you should check it out, the pieces are collaborations between 4 different artists. Like each artist made an original piece then the others each put their own touch on it. So there will be the original for sale, as well as 3 other variations on it. Very cool. Plus the artists are pretty well known, but not over the top so still affordable, $100 range. I think they will be collectibles one day since they are limited edition, only 10 prints available of each piece, and they are pretty huge. Check it out if you can...

Many cities have open studios where artists, well, open their studios to the public! For example, in SF, there is a month of open studios with each weekend featuring artists in a couple of adjoining neighborhoods. There is a guide with a map showing each location and examples of the art so you can plan what you want to see. This is a great way to expose yourself many different kinds of art and get a feel for what you like, and talk personally with the artists. I also second the suggestion to visit art university galleries. Sometimes the prices are jacked up for shows, but if a peice you like doesn't sell you may be able to negotiate a substantially better deal. I did this on two paintings and got art I adore at a great price. Finally, to see if there are any art co-ops near you. These are another good way to find reasonably priced local art.

Boomer -
I spent a long time trying to find something unique to hang on the wall over my couch, and eventually I acquired a rather large C. Jere wall sculpture that had been living in the basement of a big ole SF antique/junk shop. It's one of those monstrosities that borders on being lovable *because of* the tackiness factor! Love it or hate it, my visitors never failed to notice it

Sorry for the triple post but cripes! I just checked out the C. Jere sculptures for sale at Jonathan Adler and they are more pricey than I expected. My sculpture is signed, and I paid $70 for it. Nice!

J - you practically stole it.

I ended up using Wingard "Mobile-o" hangings as wall sculptures - the brass round "grande". Three strings of those take up a lot of wall, look cool (to me) and are inexpensive and somewhat modern.

http://www.kennethwingard.com/mobileos.html

remember that there is an artist inside each of us. i have had digital photographs from my travels blown up and mounted, and my partner found 40 metal rings (diameter 20 in) in an alley and created a huge wall sculpture. i also have 'real' art in my collection, and buy from both galleries and from artists directly....but its not nearly as interesting.

My husband and I started buying art a few years ago. He saw a painting he liked somewhere, found out the artist and where he shows, and we went to the gallery. The place was intimidating at first, but the owners were awesome! We have made it a priority to buy one piece of art per year. It's our Christmas/anniversery gift to ourselves. We're getting quite a little collection going!
We've bought several pieces through that gallery, and now the owners know us well enough that they call when something comes in they think we'll like or if they hear of a show we might be interested in.

I love going to fairs in CA - not craft fairs but fairs with actual art. I've gotten great stuff at one in Palo Alto and one in (believe it or not) Danville. Also I have had luck at the Portland Saturday Market (Oregon, that is) and at open studio events in the Santa Cruz area, for you Bay Area people, they put out a calendar with pics of the artists work and the dates they will be open and there is a lot of cool stuff out there worth checking out!

the waving girl, above, one of the last shots of Donnie Darko, is it? no?! what film, anyone? it's driving me a wee bit nuts, trying to recall...sorry, i haven't scoured the beholder yet for a credit

orangered,
it's deffinately from Donnie Darko... the very last scene where she bikes up to the scene of the place crash and there's Donnie's mom leaned up against a tree smoking a cigarette and that's when she waves.

plane* crash ... sorry, late night typo-attack.

Hi people.. thanks for the great response for the painting. I did a show several years back in the theme of Donnie Darko where I took images, sounds, and concepts from the movie and brought them all to life... It was a great success and alot of fun to work on. The feedback was overwhelming and wonderful to have.
The painting with the girl above, was bought from that show by a friend of mine who had it shown in the Beholder. (yes it is that scene at the end where she waves to Donnie's family)..

If you want to see some more of these Donnie paintings I did, please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/takefive/page3/..

My contact info for art purchases & murals is:

takingfive@yahoo.com

Best regards..

Take5,

Vancouver, Canada

err the link for more of those Donnie Darko paintings is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/takefive/page3/

Thanks for your feedback!

Take5

thankyou kkramena and take5!

Also loving the DD art!

If you like photography and want to start a serious collection on a budget, a number of photography non-profits offer affordable limited editions of top artists:

Museum of Contemporary Photography
Aperture
Blind Spot
Light Works
Humble Arts Foundation
CONTACT festival

These prints are small (usually 8x10 or 11x14) rather than the mega-dollar humongous photos you see in galleries, but for a few hundred dollars a year, you can build an excellent collection.

Jen Bekman's 20x200 photo editions are also a great source -- top emerging photographers for only $20.

links are all here:
http://howtobuyart.blogspot.com/2007/08/taste-without-trust-fund-part-i.html

please, if you are going to buy art at auction, visit your local library and research. ten minutes looking at art sales index can save you hundreds of dollars, or more. especially when you will be bidding and hoping to outbid someone else, it is easy to get carried away. as an art librarian, I often have to tell people what they should have paid after the fact. be smart.

i love browsing, these r my favorite sites i've found, they are various prices and styles, but i enjoy searching through.

obviously http://omgposters.com/ they dont sell anything, but provide links and release dates of prints, variying prices.

http://www.crashamerica.com/html/buy.html for cool band posters

http://www.theposterlist.com/ retro goodness

http://hammerpress.net/posters/posters.html various weirdness

http://thesmallstakes.com/gallery.php?page=1# artsy weirdness

http://www.obeygiant.com/store/home.php for ur propaganda engeneering

http://threadless.com/catalog/style,other cute and geeky

http://www.thebirdmachine.com/

http://www.keepcalmgallery.com/products sayings and such

http://www.thumbtackpress.com/browse/index.php

a great place for prints, pretty cheap too

visit good galleries. see which artists you like and the kind of work you like. find out about them. learn how the artists you like are part of the present art world at large and the historical art world. don't throw your money away on stupid, quirky stuff. that's not collecting, that's shopping and you will only have buyer's remorse later when you have learned more. many make mistakes buying art at first. it's part of the learning curve. but the more you know about what, who and why you like, the greater you can prevent yourself from silly spending. look at a lot -- painting, prints, works on paper, sculpture, photographs. don't buy posters. find dealers who will work with new, emerging collectors. they will get to know you and you will get to know them. buying art is very much about developing a relationship with the sources for art. and enjoy yourself.

I currently work in an art gallery and after working with several first-time collectors, I give the same advice given here... BUY WHAT YOU LOVE. For your first purchase -- I wouldn't get too caught up in thinking about it as an investment piece or anything else. Just... do you love it??? It's usually the piece that grabs you as soon as you see it. The one you keep looking at and the one you just can't get out of your head.

So what happens if you can't afford it??? Ask for a payment plan. Generally you can make monthly payments to the gallery, no problem. SOME galleries will give discounts -- maybe up to 10%, some won't... but it doesn't hurt to ask.... politely, of course.

Personally, I only buy original art now -- I just can't seem to bring myself to buy prints... There are so many up and coming artists out there with RIDICULOUSLY affordable art. I feel so good supporting them... and I love having paintings that no one else has.

I recently picked up a painting for $40 at an art fair -- the artist studied with several very well-known artists and the painting could easily be sold in a gallery for about $1,500. But, most importantly, I saw the painting, loved it and had to have it.

Speaking as a photographer and former art consultant, I have to emphasize the difference between BUYING art and COLLECTING art. Are you looking for decoration, or something that will appreciate in value as time passes, or at least something valuable? Things to consider:

a. Edition size: how many copies are there of your piece? Are you comfortable with that number? Are you comfortable with an open edition? If you want rarer, but can't go for a painting, look for trial proofs or artist proofs.

b. Signatures: Most artists sign their work. Some do not. Do you care? Picasso and Chagall, for example, did both. They would have two versions of each collection, one completely signed, and one where only the frontis piece was signed. The latter would often get separated from the frontis piece. It's still a Chagall/Picasso, but it's unsigned, so you pay less, it's worth less, and you need further verification/certification.

I heartily second the notion that you should always collect what you love, but I also recommend making friends with the artist, if you can. Depending on their medium, they might give you first crack at new works, or even accept commissions, guaranteed one of a kind art. If the artist is unsigned (not attached to a gallery), you can also get the art for a lower rate since you don't need to factor in a commission for the gallery. Ditto framing--you would not believe how much of the final price is made up of recouping framing and shipping costs.

--Samantha
www.samanthawolov.com

Aquarabbit ttp://www.aquarabbit.net/ is a member of this community. Her paintings are incredible. Take a look.

Also, I've purchased art that I've seen in cafés and coffee shops. Ebay is also a good source (I've recently found a number of WPA era pieces that I just love. There's a new book out on the WPA which is also a treat . http://www.amazon.com/New-Deal-Kathryn-Flynn/dp/1423602927/ref=pd_sim_b_1

of course ill throw in my site to the multitude of comments:

http://www.timmelideo.com/store

:)

Many non-profit art spaces hold a benefit where all the art is one price or done through silent auction. You can get some great deals this way.

Not to be self-promoting, but I wrote a book about collecting art on a budget -- The Intrepid Art Collector (Crown 2006). It tells you what to look for, and look out for, when starting a collection. The book is in most big-city libraries.

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307237132

I love both http://www.20x200.com/ and http://www.littlepaperplanes.com/main.php

Great up and coming artists at reasonable prices!!

I also like to take posters, pictures, cards, whatever and blow up the images onto larger canvas or paper - it can get pixellated, but that is part of the fun.

speaking from the perspective of a 22 year old just out of college, in debt with student loans, and trying to make rent... i don't want to pay a lot for art. instead of buying one really expensive piece, i have begun a collection of screen printed posters of my favorite bands/artists. mine are hung in matching black frames on my living room wall. here are some good sites:

http://www.artgallery.umd.edu/exhibit/285.08/index.php?page=cp

thanks zhenpoo for posting our site The Poster List

Until August 31, we have a 2-for-$20 Sale! 2 posters for $20 dollars.