by Kellie Hall

Created on: October 02, 2008

Art collecting need not be as complicated and intimidatingas it may sounds. What you are doing is buying beautiful, original pieces of artwork that bring you pleasure- you are decorating, but with things that only you own and love. You will also be providing valuble patronage to indivdual artists in a known location rather than to faceless foreign sources of mass produced wall covering- always a plus.

Just to get this out of the way- do not buy art as part of a get rich quick strategy, or even with the intention of making money by resale. Much art does appreciate with time, but there is certainly no guarantee. Purchase artwork because you love it, because it will make your life and your surroundings richer and more beautiful.

Basically you can buy art in two ways- online, or in person.

If you wish to uy artwork in person, a good place to start would be local galleries and art fairs. As a general rule art fairs will be more affordable and will present a greater variety of styles and types of artwork to choose from, and you can always get the contact information of any artist you art interested in. Galleries have the benefit of being open at regular hours, out of the weather, and tend to present artwork of a fairly cohesive style and type- if you find a gallery you truly love it can prove invaluble not only for helping you to keep track of artists you know and love, but also for introducing you to new artists.

Purchasing art online can be a little riskier, but you will find artwork and aritsts in that way that you may never have been introduced to otherwise. blogs are wonderful for getting to know the artists behind the artowrk, and understanding the stories behind the pieces that you love, and sites like http://topartistsdirectory.blogspot.com/ can be wonderfully helpful when it comes to introducing you to new artists and their online presences. Small paintings by these artists are often available on eBay for $100 or even much less, excellent prices for original works of art.

I recommend getting to know the artists a little bit prior to making an actual purchase, even if that only means reading their profile and looking at some of their body of work. A simple eBay search will flood you with so much bad and badly copied artowrk it is almost not worth doing, but once you find an artist you like you can see who else is bidding on their pieces, and follow the trail to see what other artists those people have purchased from in the past... that and other creative searching methods can serve you well. Or something as simple as asking a friend about a painting in their home that you particularly admire :)

Last but certainly not least, your guiding light in this search should be your own taste, not what anyone tells you or what may or may not be fashionable at the moment. What artists do you enjoy? What is their style called? What were the posters on your dorm walls in college? What subject matter attracts you? This is a wonderful journey- enjoy the process.

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