No budget for Art? Try these 7 Options

So, you took the spring cure and your home is coming together. Furniture's well-arranged with good flow, a beautiful colour's gone up on the walls, your home's decluttered. Now you'd like to add the finishing touches, including some artwork. But though you're definitely past the poster on the wall stage of your life, all of the artists you like are definitely well past your price range. What are your options? Why not try these budget friendly and workable solutions...

Scoop up the young 'uns: New emerging artists are a good bet. check local independent galleries (in LA, check out the ones in Culver City) and art schools (Otis college is one option). Etsy, of course, is another way to go. Next year try the Santa Monica art show where you bid on an unknown artist. Only after you bid is the name of the artist revealed. You might pick up a Currin for a pittance.
Buy art books. Destroy them: Buying books for the coffee table to peruse when you're in the mood is one option. But, you might also consider whipping out your ISlice and framing the pages you love.
Cull your photographs: Futz around with the good ones on Photoshop by cropping them and enhancing the colour, print them on to photo transfer paper and then transfer them on to a canvas. Icon on Wilshire in LA can also help you with this and there are many online services as well.
Look to your kids. Child's drawings as is, or blown up to oversized proportions, often make arresting and unique pieces.
Skip the canvas, pick the box: Collections mounted inside shadowboxes, such as those available at Bed Bath and Beyond, instantly turn your obsessions into art. Try: paraphenalia collected on your vacation, the series of mismatched forks you fell in love with at the flea market, a collage of postcards.
Insta Pop Art: Commercial packaging can be beautiful. We remember a friend who decorated his bare shelving with loud cheery boxes of bright detergent packages turned outwards. Not only were they useful (he actually used the contents) but they were an eyecatching display
Records but no record player? Consider framing the covers. Urban Outfitters is one source for display frames that fit standard LPs.

[image: David & Kurt combines classic with modern]

Comments (40)

I've done #2 a few times with various coffee table books. Recently I bought one filled with schematics for the Eiffel tower and framed 5 of the pages. It looks fantastic.

Another suggestion is searching google images and flickr. You can find some amazing photography from renowned artists and newbies alike. This is one of my favorites that I recently put up. Type 'Avedon' on google image search.

http://www.photography-collection.com/uploaded_images/Avedon_Naty-Abascal-and-Ana-Maria-Abascal_web-739871.jpg

More ideas:

hang plates in a large display, they're cheap, pretty, and there's a thousand different ways you can do it.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1682767&l=7e9e5357b2&id=500186656

frame odd stuff -- I framed a tea towel, a beer coaster from a trip to a German pub, and a lollipop wrapper from a night out at a baseball game with my best friend. They remind me of fun times, and they give my kitchen a sense of humor.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1682768&l=553ab1227a&id=500186656

if you have pretty things, don't hide them away! Do you play an instrument? Pull it out of the back closet and stick it on the wall!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2475380&l=1ca0b76e2f&id=500186656

hang it now, frame it later -- even if you don't have a budget for professional framing, use some of those poster strips that won't damage your wall and hang your own sketches, pages from books, maps, or what have you. Bull dog clips, or other office supplies also work for small pages, as long as there's no strong draft in the room.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1682789&l=e8f7b41bc2&id=500186656

I had NO budget for art moving into my new place, but I still like how it's turned out just making-do with what I could find.

Check out the limited edition iris prints at Jen Bekman's 20x200 http://www.20x200.com. If you sign up for their email alerts, you will receive weekly edition offers on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Most images are available in three sizes, the smallest being around 8 1/2 x 11 at 20.00 each (yep, affordable it is!) in an edition of 200. You will receive a certificate of authentication for each print, with the prints number in the print run. The website explains the options very clearly. The work they offer is really terrific, by a wide range of artists. I've purchased a couple of prints from them and can vouch for the high quality of their printing.

Thanks for the info MLechner!

Michael's regularly does the lp frames on sale for $6, much better bargain that urban outfitter.

art calendars are also a good (and cheaper) alternative to cutting up art books!

you can get great orgininal art by living artists at etsy.com tons of prints for nothing ;-D

our local art college has a massive sale every christmas (helps the students raise much needed cash) - pottery, sculpture, paintings, drawings, prints, animation, posters....

they've also got an online store where students and alumni sell work.

perhaps check out your local art colleges?

I painted my long dark hallway a buttery white it needed art so I bought a bunch of large natural wood frames from IKEA and painted them a dark grey with green/blue tint. I basically mixed my left over paint from my other rooms and the color looks great. I mounted some of my black and white photos from various travels mostly buildings and of objects and changed some of my color photos to be B/W with iPhoto.

I also bought some images from sutterstock.com.

I have original art in other areas of the house but wanted my hallway more simple gallery like.

I recently added some old more ornate frames and painted them the same color for some B/W sketches I liked.

I do this all the time....have for years

I recently ran into a problem in my redone bathroom

I had no money for art....and no real ideas.

I found a treasure trove of late 1800's bicycle patents on the internet....beautiful scans with interesting lines and detail, tons of appeal, and in my mind....very original and very me (also very now, very Steampunk)

I played around in i-photo with my 4 favourites the I took the files to Kinkos....ran some great copies on nice thick cardstock.....slipped them into Target frames and BANG!!!.......instant art for under $40!!! It looks very cool and I'm very pleased!

W magazine is also another great source for pictures that are big enough to look they did not come from a magazine. They always have a few non fashion landscape type pics thrown in. Vice magazine has good stuff to, as do many.....just steer clear of the models and fashion stories, that can look cheap and tacky.

I have 3 frames in my hallway where I constantly change the pics depending on the season and my mood, it's worked very well for me.....it's fun to change it around.
The library and Kinkos are my best sources.

I love ripping apart old photo books as well.....I once papered a hallway with old books photo books from a garage sale and a can of spray glue.

You do need to use your judgement when doing this....you can end up looking quite naff with a wall full of faux Warhols or Cindy Shermans.....so watch it!

I love to find fabric patterns and staple them over an old/cheap canvas. Inexpensive and effective!

agree about calenders, wall paper, wrapping paper. Also thrift stores are great...I've gotten some terrific items, including a nicely framed and matted italian watercolor for $8.

also, offer to clean up someone's basement and hang objects.

marcspice... care to share where you found the bicycle patent scans?

I collect original vintage impressionist paintings in gaudy gilt frames all off eBay - my rule is nothing more than $100.

As for cheap art, I love Etsy, and old calendars to cut up. I've also searched the internet for pretty photos, which I stuck inside old CD cases and hung on the wall in a 4x4 display... an idea I found on this site, actually.

Who did the art in the pic?

My grandfather was a civil engineer and had some proposed maps of the freeway system in LA. Those got framed and put in my hall. Schematics, drawings and maps look really cool on the wall and you can probably find lots of them online.

If you are in the Minneapolis area you should definitely check out the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) Annual Art Sale. It is usually held late Nov. for one weekend and nothing is over 1000.00. Thousands of student and recent alumni work to choose from. www.mcad.edu.
And you can buy my work there too! www.samanthafrench.com - but seriously a great place to go if you're looking for inexpensive art.

I did a study with a disposable camera once, then did a collage (of sorts) with the best turnouts . . . super cheap . . . super easy . . . you can customize the colors (you're the photographer!) and it's 100% you!

You can frame pretty much anything and, if you do it nicely (matting, a nice frame, etc.), it will look great. Even little vacation snapshots and odd little sketches will look good if properly framed.

Thx Abby, good ideas! I've hung records before, sans frame and had a hard time keeping them up. Any ideas for how to hang them without messing up the cover? Also my son (5yrs old) loves to draw pictures, I've scanned some and hung them, i think it looks pretty cool, very Picasso-esque.

@mlleErica i love the plate idea, how pretty that turned out! Also, I love hanging my hubbys instruments (bass & guitar) and it does look like art to me too.

A few more: On eBay, you can buy beautiful, hand-colored 18th-19th-century prints for $20-$30 and sometimes less. Etsy and non-Etsy artists alike sometimes auction their best work on eBay, and in San Francisco, <a http="http://www.creativityexplored.org">Creativity Explored</a> turns out some amazing stuff.

It would help if I posted a working link, wouldn't it. Let's try again: Creativity Explored.

I just found out that my city (Edmonton) has an online vintage photo archive and they will print copies of photos for as little as $15 for and 8x10, and up to $50 for a print 20x24. A scan on CD is $15/photo. I need to go browse, now...

Nice theramin!

You can also order custom prints from the Tate Modern. They take a high quality picture of any work that is in their collection and print it on a selection of papers up to 30x40! I love some of John Currin's work and have never been able to find a quality poster or print. This way I could have one day for much cheaper!

http://www.tate.org.uk/research/researchservices/customprints/

Lizzykewl, I don't know how to hang albums other than carefully without frames but if you do use the album frames (and they needn't be expensive) they are designed to hold the entire sleeve w/out destruction and are sized exactly to fit them.

I have some reproduction Jazz album covers from Blue Note done by Miles Reed in the 60's that I have framed and have put over the couch, I only have the project half done however as I'll have a total of 8 of them, but only 4 are done and hung.

I've made some of my own artwork for the hall, printing up a card Mom had that she cut to fit a 4x4 frame of a Dachshund and I found a card of 2 fo them, representing freindships, both B&W and I colored in a daisy to use in some cheap colorful plastic frames, using Photoshop to do it and have some other stuff that I've had for years also hung, one of which is an unsigned silkscreen print from HS and a red framed early 1900's early B&W photo of a bear in a wicker chair taken at a summer cabin in California from a dear family friend that I've had for nearly 30 years now.

None of it was expensive and in there are photos framed and a painting of something my youngest sister did in art class where they were blow up something from a magazine and paint it onto stretched art canvas and it's rather abstract and works great as art and I've had it for years and leans up against the wall on a Lack shelf and was never framed.

I love finding vintage postcards and framing them. They usually fit nicely into standard photo-size matting, and I've been able to make some fairly cool looking pieces by framing various combinations of poppy postcards - this is the arrangement I had in my last house. The pink/white/black typography piece is the front cover of a year planner I bought while studying in Japan - I liked the composition so much I put it into a little frame and it's one of my favourite pieces of art, especially because it reminds me of the time I was there. Additionally, my dad is an artist so I have an extra advantage over finding art I don't have to pay for - the old "But you're just storing it in a closet! I can hang it up and it'll be like a gallery!" never fails to score me a few paintings on long-term loan ;).

Magazine's - namely "Surfing the Magazine" and old Martha Stewart Livings. I've used Surfing for some amazing b&w shots and Patagonia catalogs have some amazing pics, just cut them out. MSL used to have pages with just photos of the different types of flowers, plants, fruits, veggies, etc. and I really loved them.

But if you want to go with something unique and a bit more fun, I suggest etsy and local art fairs. I have 3 bros who are artists, so I do get some free art from them. Shameless etsy plug here: www.ZAKARANAS.etsy.com

Vintage movie posters can be very inexpensive on eBay. I bought three original 1960 posters, for cheesy exploitation flicks starring luminaries like Steve Allen and Mamie van Doren, for US$20. That's less than US$7 each.

Now framing, on the other hand, costs a packet. But if you already have some old frames then vintage movie posters give you a lot of bang for your buck.

I always go to friends for the artwork...or do it myself. It's always been free! I hung tons of absolutely wonderful photographs my hobby photographer friend took and what's even better is that if I have something I want he usually goes on a photography expedition to get the shot for me and he expands his portfolio and the diversity of it. I have several paintings/drawings I've done myself that I've hung, and I will probably hang some of my kids artwork soon. And if you acquire your artwork from friends I just suggest you return the favor as best as possible! Another GREAT resource to use is using http://www.blockposters.com/. It's free (other than the paper and printer ink you probably already have) and you can get some absolutely wonderful and interesting results from it! You can even just use wallpaper paste to hang the pages rather than buying frames for all of them.

A Thermin station? Cool!

marcspice - also wondering where you might have found these? would love to use those just to hand and to use in other forms of art i create. love technical drawings etc.

hang, not hand...

My votes for affordable wall-art:

1. Old Calendars, often for just a buck you can score some pretty cool prints.

2. Etsy... heh-llo affordable, emerging, and awesome artists!

3. See something you like but you can't attain it, try to recreate it yourself or make something inspired by it. Most of us here are design-literate enough to make some simple doodles with paint or pencils that would look great in a frame.

4. Better yet? Commission a friend whose doodles you like!

5. Thrift stores for alternatives to paintings and prints. I've got an ashtray and a cheesy old wood carving up in the kitchen that look great in their grouping.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sushibunny/3583227442/in/set-72157613712792171/

6. Embroidery hoops with fabric or... get this... embroidery.

Oh man, the list goes on...

Hi there...

I wanted to chime in since 20x200 got a mention way up there. First of all: thanks! Secondly, good news for the budget conscious: we are currently in the midst of our *only* site-wide sale of the year, which means that our ridiculously affordable prints are even more affordable!

Our 20% More Ridiculous Sale is on now and runs through Tuesday at 11:59PM (East Coast time)

Visit us at: http://www.20x200.com/

Collectors who enter the code RIDONK at checkout will get 20% off their prints.

For more details about the sale, have a look at the newsletter I sent out this morning:
http://bit.ly/ridonktues

Thanks for reading, and happy collecting!

All best,
Jen

20x200, The Jen Beckman project is having a sale through Tuesday. 20% off everything. You can't go wrong here!

Guess I should read all comments b4 posting :)

Thrift stores and flea markets: I got a nice framed original watercolor of Red Square for $3, an original watercolor landscape for $3, an acrylic portrait of a child reading for $5 (with a newspaper article about the local artist who painted it taped to the back.) Although I generally don't buy commercially reproduced art (when I can get the real deal as above) I got two matching long vertical prints of (presumabley) Tuscan villages for my new dining room (problem walls) for $10. All of these were ready to hang, so no mats or framing needed... pretty cheap!

Stumbled upon Hungry Walls a few weeks ago (www.hungrywalls.com). Really gorgeous photographs this month for $25-100. Would absolutely LOVE to see any of these - HUGE - on my walls!!