I would, truly. But on my list of "Things to spend money that I want but don't need" (YRS, I have such a list), original art is way down there. Sad, but true.

I do! I don't always buy direct from an artist. But I am all about original art work. I feel its one of the only real ways to make your place a real home.

Yes but not expensive pieces as I can't afford it. I do buy pieces I can afford locally or thru etsy. In addition to originals, I also buy prints and photographs.

It's interesting the poster feels that an art purchase was such a milestone in coupledom. Signing a mortgage (which is something my ex hubby and I did before any couch or art buying) was more of a "we are a couple" moment for me, both legally and emotionally.

@Applemanju: The mortgage was a HUGE deal, obviously, but it was so stressful and overwhelming that it wasn't a purely joyful experience like buying this piece of art. This art was simply something we both loved and wanted to enjoy together -- no paperwork or signing away of firstborn in blood required. ;-)

for it to be a real investment, i'd say you have to be spending in the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands. my wife and i have been collecting art since we were college students & every year or so we buy ourselves a major piece for our anniversary. we have some very nice pieces by well-known artists that are original art or signed lithographs but could never really consider it an investment, esp. now in this bad economy. unless you're spending the big dough and are an expert (or can hire one) i'd say buy what you like but don't think you can easily resell for profit. i have friends who have had to sell their collections of miro, warhol, and lawrence for 1/2 the price they paid.

I WOULD LOVE TO! But, as is the reality of a young couple- we DIY most of ours! Even when we can afford "real" art, we will still likely DIY to compliment the purchased pieces. Some of the recent DIY's include our chalkboard and textured wall art.

...and it's a total investment! :)

@Timmy Jr.: You're probably right. I've written about many galleries who court collectors with money, and yes, they spend a lot of money to make it an investment. Some of the collectors even keep the really valuable pieces in storage. I'd much rather think of art as something to enjoy!!! Then again, I know a couple of people who purchased art from unknown talents who went on to be rather big names in the art world.

My husband is an artist. Besides covering our apartment in his artwork, we like to purchase and trade other artists for their work. Nothing is more rewarding than working hard on something for so long to have someone else love it just as much!

Hmmm despite selling art on etsy, I don't think I've ever bought any for myself. I do have one piece that I've been considering for a while, but I guess I'm kind of afraid to go for it because i'm so... "half-assed" when it comes to framing and hanging things. I wouldn't want to be the one to ruin something.

I buy prints off of etsy, and I tend to stick to underappreciated young artists, too! I think the one original piece on my wall (excluding whatever I've done) is actually an envelope someone decorated so beautifully I just couldn't NOT hang it.

I don't feel bad for not selling a lot of art on etsy because I feel the same way everyone else does: I want to buy art, but I would also like to have food in my fridge!

While, if you're lucky, you can buy work directly from the artist (which is the most cost effective way to buy art)-- often, for real art, you'll have to go through a dealer or gallery. One thing that I've found comes in handy is paying out over time. Yes, the art world has lay-a-way! Sometimes buying something you love may feel like a financial stretch, if you're very comfortable you can make it work, go for it! Especially if you love the piece. If I had a dime for every collector who's told me they could have bought a warhol or a matisse for $5,000... well, I'd have a really serious collection by now.

Two of the more rewarding aspects of having artwork are (1) sharing the artist with others close to you and (2) being able to pass something beautiful and of value to another individual (e.g., your kids). If you're buying for the extra benefit of investment, I suggest exposing yourself to all different styles, researching, educating yourself, and buying the best you can afford.

@jbrighterthanyou: Art for trade is the best! I acquired some of my early pieces by trading web design or writing services for artwork. Any money made back then is long gone, but I still have the art!

I disagree withTommy, Jr. I have bought only original art pieces, some directly from the artist, others from a gallery. I have pieces which I purchased for under $100.00 which have appreciated greatly in the past 20 years or so. Art is very personal and subjective, but you can't go wrong with buying what you love...whether it appreciates or not.

I don't but that's only because I am an art student and a very picky one a that!

However, I might add to people that it's a very good idea to get artists when they're young before they are qualified etc. We sell our work dirt cheap and our commisions are also dirt cheap, or at least mine are. You could buy yourself a starbucks lunch with the price range I have in mind. Total tip guys, get them when they're young, support them and when they're doing very well you won't need to pay nearly as much.

Still, supporting an artist has to be a piece of charity if anything. You can happily say that money may well have led them on to a successful career or bought them the materials required for a piece of work that got them popular. Every time you buy an artist's work, especially a fledgling, there is a sigh of relief. It's like 'boy... I'm going to get there'. By buying you make it happen.

Plus you have something completely unique and original. Perfect!

We have a fair amount of original art; my mom starting buying pieces for us kids when we were around 12 or 13--one new piece every Christmas and birthday--this continued until my early 20s. (Luckily she has great taste and I have amassed a really nice collection.) Since my husband and I have been together (34+years) we have bought art, usually at art fairs and small galleries. We haven't spent a ton, but we buy what we like and we have it around. While I wouldn't say it defines us as a couple or as "grown-ups," we feel lucky to have gotten such a good start and to be able to continue to add to the collection.

I just bought the first original piece of art (happens to be a painting) that is part of our home! The artist is up and coming, but that's not why I bought it. It definitely helps, cost-wise, if you can make a personal connection with the artist. I'm a graduate student, and I wait tables on the side. My restaurant also has a gallery space and this artist's work is shown every year. Through getting to know him at the restaurant, I was able to get a really nice discount (while still feeling that I was paying him a fair price) for a lovely work of art. And, oddly enough, it does feel like a substantial investment in our home, more so than much of the furniture we've bought.

We often buy art during our travels, so it ends up having an extra level of meaning.

I think it's weird to buy art with someone you're romantically involved with, but that's just me. Sort of like getting a tattoo of your significant other's name... but again, some people are cool with that. Art is just... way too personal.

@ohiunderstand: exactly. so when you find a piece of art that you and your s.o. both seriously love, it kind of reaffirms your connection. i'm choosing to be optimistic that we'll never need to argue over who gets to keep it.

I buy unique or handmade art all the time! Of course, I'm young so most of my wares have to come from low-end art fares, but you can find affordable art at almost any level if you're willing to look for it.

I do have one more expensive piece that we couldn't resist, but normally just buy prints. Can't afford the real deal.

I have moved my art with me when consulting in Riyadh, Winnipeg and now Bermuda. I keep some of the main pieces in Toronto. It helps me feel at home wherever I am.

We buy an original piece of artwork for every year that we are married. Because we have been marred down with renovations and student loans, our art for the first few years has been modest - coffee shop pieces and Etsy pieces for under a few hundred bucks, sometimes for under $50. This year we bought something from a bona fide art gallery. It still wasn't expensive but was a leap up in the world. The cost is irrelevant though. We really enjoy having the entire year to shop and pick out our pieces together. It's a lot of fun and, at the end of our lives, we are going to have a house full of art.

As an artist I have found this dialogue very interesting and quite informative. Prints of your original seems to be the most cost effective way to really earn money from the days and hours put into the work. I have two shops, one of which is Etsy and I want to thank all of you that do buy and support art and artists!

I have a policy of only buying original, preferably one-off works, mostly at auction. I buy what I like and what I can afford, but I have no illusions that any of it will ever make me money. Still, the loss will be less than if I'd bought art prints.

Some things to remember are:

1. Most art on the market today is either badly executed or inane... or both. There are many under-talented people with easy access to paint, and thanks to etsy and ebay, they're free to inflict their work onto the marketplace.

2. Unless you live in an artists mecca such as NYC, you'll find that the quality market is rather closed, both for buyers and creators.

3. Art that will appreciate in value is rare, and almost always prohibitively expensive to begin with. You're never going to spend $100 on a painting and find yourself with a $10,000 windfall twenty years later. But a $5,000 painting may be worth $50,000 over the same period.

4. While there are decent artists on etsy, the fine detail that separates good art from mediocre is impossible to discern on a computer screen. You could easily spend far too much on something that turns out to be terrible.

We collect art. We have a small but rather fine collection of contemporary New Mexico santos. We also have a number of paintings and lithographs. We also have a small of Pueblo pottery, both vessels and storyteller dolls, as well as a few Katchina dolls. Recently I've become interested in Yoruba beadwork and Baule colon figures from Africa.

Most of our paintings, but not all, were purchased directly from the artist. I love to support local artists and find that their work adds so much to my life. I have pretty much ceased buying works on paper, though, because archival framing is so expensive. Nevertheless, if you have the collecting gene, your heart and eyes are always open. I've never regretted a single art purchase, only the ones "prudence" let get away.

In San Francisco it is very easy to find high-quality, low-cost art for $60–$300 at art auctions. You can buy work that supports nonprofits such as Southern Exposure and The Lab and Visual Aid, who provide financial and educational resources to the community. Even non-art nonprofits such as the SF Bicycle Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness offer work by well-known locals such as Dave Eggers.

If you are on a budget, Cheap Pete's has friendly staff who are genuinely excited to help you frame your new masterpiece.

I buy what I both love and can afford. Sometimes that is original work, and sometimes it's prints. I'd say I have about 85% original works done by the artists' own hand (also b/c I inherited a lot of paintings done by my grandfather). But I often like prints and reproductions and have many on the walls.

There have been 3 paintings in my years of independence that I regretted not buying. All but one weren't super-pricey for me at the time each appeared, but I dismissed all 3 as unaffordable. But I can still see each passed over image in my mind....one of them more than 20 years later. When the 4th painting made its appearance, I found the money. Even when I've struggled to pay bills, I have never regretted buying it.

Not really. I go to gallerys every now and then but never really see anything I want enough to justify the price. The only original pieces I've ever craved are by overseas artists that don't ship abroad so I really only ever end up buying art when I'm traveling. And anyways, as Design Build Love said, we just end up diy-ing it ourselves!

Interesting conversation!

At this stage in my life, my apartment is decorated in prints and DIY art projects. I like DIY art projects, because they are relatively unique to my home and are talking pieces--in the sense that I created them on my own. Additionally, I like that none of my artwork is super expensive. It allows me to feel comfortable switching out artwork when my interests change. I'm not sure I would feel the same way if I had spent several hundred (or thousand) dollars on a piece of art.

I won't rule it out, though, that someday I'd invest in some original artwork. I think when my life is a bit more settled--owning property, having a better paying job (i.e. not my first full-time job outside of college), etc.

P.S. That is a beautiful papercut. I've experimented in the past with creating my own DIY papercuts--with little success--but this inspires me to try again. :) Lovely!

Wow, there's a lot of pretension in some of these comments. I love original work, and I'm always in the market for whatever I like. I like exchanging with friends and I'd love for one day to have my entire house covered in great art. No gallery required, "great art" is all around us.

Buying art instead of something from art.com should be like buying furniture instead of buying something from IKEA. It doesn't necessarily have to appreciate in value over time, but you should be proud to show it to your parents and it should not be disposable.

If you want original art, but you don't really mind not knowing the entire story of the art or knowing who the artist is, you can always look for vintage art. We have several pieces of original work we bought for about $60. We don't have a clue who the artists are, but that didn't bother us at all.

I love original art. Of course for smaller rooms Etsy is fine but for my statement peices & big walls I prefer www.Folioleaf.com they have original works on paper. I use them both in my home and for my clients.

Let me just say to each his own, but I would *never* spend 10's of thousands and definitely not 100's of thousands on original art. Not even if it was the Mona Lisa and I was Jimmy Buffet.

Most of my art is original as it is DIY made by myself and friends/family. I like art from other cultures and local art as well.

If I did ever buy art that was that expensive I would probably donate it to a museum. I couldn't have that on the wall at my house.

I can understand maybe if it is a well-known, historically relevant artist. Because you are not just buying art, but history as well. But unless they have used diamonds and gold, or it is a very intricate piece, most contemporary artists are not worth that IMO.

I used to, and I inherited quite a number of original art pieces, so combined I have more than I have wallspace. However I really now want my home to reflect my viewpoint - so - one by one I'm replacing those pieces with paintings, photography and textile art fashioned by my own hands. And guess what? It's turning out to be really hard to get rid of art I no longer want unless it was made by a recognizable name OR I give it away for free to a thrift shop!

*ummm, yes. In my above comment I meant Warren Buffet, not Jimmy Buffet. I hadn't had my coffee yet. Whelp, they're distant cousins anyhow...mere degrees of separation.

I am an artist and have tons of my own work and have purchased the work of friends. I also have a bit of a problem with the $100 and under category - if I see something I love in this price range, I will buy it without a second thought. But art is my life. And I don't have an addiction to the more typical purchases of new clothes, shoes or tech gadgets.

Yes, of course I buy original art! So should EVERYONE! ;^)

I tend to buy things I love by local artists and artist friends. I can't afford and probably wouldn't even want "famous artist" works -- too expensive to protect archivally and from theft. But local art is often wonderful, and if it speaks to you it doesn't matter whether the artist if famous.

I don't like mass-produced commercial prints (although I do have a few for one reason or another.) But what I adore is bargains! I have a wonderful framed and matted watercolor landscape that I got for $3 at a flea market, for instance. I have some others originals I got at thrift stores for less than $10. If you can tell the real from the mass produced, and you keep an eye out so you can buy things you like, original art can be cheaper than the mass produced prints!

The only original artwork that I own is actually that which I have made myself.

I will say though that I'm a fan of your record collection. I'm sitting here right now and looking at my black-brown, 4x2 Expedit filled with records.

I am a huge art fan, but like most people, I can't afford to purchase expensive pieces. I recently watched the "Herb & Dorothy" documentary and found it very inspiring -- very much in line with this article and the comments!

I have 12 original paintings gracing my walls at this point. This does not include 9 (so far) enlarged & matted/ framed prints of my own photographs. We're very frugal, so the most we've personally spent on any one painting was $200 (another painting we own cost more but was a gift). We do not buy artwork to show off or to try to impress anyone, and certainly not as an investment. We buy it because we love it and we adore hanging originals on our walls. We have met some of the artists. With a few, we've supported local student artists. Most came from our vacations in Pensacola over the past 3 summers (all of those but 1 being local to that region). Each has a specific pleasant memory attached to it. All of that is far more important than how much money our lovely little collection is worth. No room for snobbery here, as our walls are filling up fast, but we'll definitely make room for that next great piece. ;)

I bought my first piece of original art when I was seventeen. But I am an artist, so perhaps I have different financial priorities. I'll only buy it if my first reaction is something like 'yum! I want to be IN that', but I still find myself continually facing the lack of wall space issue, which is very frustrating because I want to be able to give each piece it's own space so I can LOOK at it.

I have found the solution. Furniture art. My coffee table is a real conversation starter.

I'm an independent Photographer trying to sell some of my work but I find the price point a sticky subject. What are you willing to pay for prints?

"http://www.thomascamponephotography.com">Thomas Campone Photography

I work with 4heads Governors Island Art Fair (a non-profit, where I run the Arts Education Outreach Program). A great place to see and find great art for your home, the Fair is FREE to visitors and is going on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in September on beautiful Governors Island (thru Sun the 25th.) The Fair features over 120 international artists, working in all sorts of media (drawing, painting, sculpture, video etc) and it is a great place to pick up great finds for your home or apartment while supporting the arts and re-use of both materials and repurposed spaces (as it is held in 5 sections of building 12, the abandoned historical army barracks on the island). Please help us spread the word and join us in supporting the Arts and Arts Communities in NY. Read about us/some reviews:

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/governors-island-art-fair-transforms-former-military-barracks-into-exhibit-spaces/governors-island-art-fair-3/

http://www.4heads.org/

http://www.facebook.com/4headsArtFair

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/arts/the-last-throes-of-summer.html

Please share with your friends, art lovers and enthusiasts you might know. If you have questions you can email: info@4heads.org.

Thanks! - Ellen

Yes!!! I do!!! and I am on a Nanny's wage...I look at the art of young and new artists in town, many of them sell good quality beautiful work for a couple of hundred dollars. I am living a little of my patrons' dream, I am encouraging a young artist, I am promoting beauty and feeling proud of a 'live' object in my home. I have recently purchased a silkscreen by an artist who just became important. I have forst hand art in my house. What else am I going to spend money on...clothes? Furniture? There is the second hand store for that.

It’s also important to protect your investment!! Having your artwork authenticated by professionals is an incredibly important step if you want to be successful in the art market. If you need any help on this please visit monetexperts.com. Have a great day!

Hey all. Check out this cool new app coming out at http://www.arttwo50.com/ for original art