Guide to buying original art no matter what your budget
For many people buying a piece of original art is an overwhelming concept, first there is the cost. Before my time as an artist I was overwhelmed by the cost of the paintings I saw in Galleries, often thousands of euros for work that was good but not something I loved so much I had to have it at any cost. The gap between these originals and the posters available at home decorating stores made me feel that maybe I ought to actually just get the posters. In terms of cost, I used the prices in galleries as a springboard for my imagination. The pieces I really love must by comparison cost at least twice what the others cost. In those days I was viewing art through the eyes of the gallery visitor and not the artist. I loved art, I wanted art, but I could not afford art. I didn't want to settle for second best, I didn't want generic posters. I wanted a home full of original paintings, which I suppose is what I now have.
I assume that I am not the only one who feels this way, not the only one who wants to look up at their Picasso, or Rembrant, or perhaps if I am lucky over the next few decades, their Loecker. Not the only one who feels a connection with the creator of that key piece of what makes your home uniquely yours. That is why I would like to give you a few tips that I would have liked to have back, so many years ago, as I disconsolately stood in front of those high price tags despairing of ever owning anything containing actual paint.
If I can help you to find something you love that will indeed be a worthwhile result of writing this post.
1. Figure out what kind of art you like
While there are pieces of art that awe most viewer, The Mona Lisa being one that springs to mind, the art you choose to live with will reflect some quality you admire or desire. Home is the place where you get to be most truly yourself, and your choices of artwork, furniture, and other small items reflect how you see the world, what you hold to be beautiful, and sometimes even reflects your moral and ethical inclinations.
As you begin to think about what style of art you like I recommend that you visit galleries and museums, pay attention to the walls of restaurants and public building, and actually take a moment to look at the graffiti on the buildings you pass. Take a snapshot of anything you like on your phone and keep a file on your computer. If you are alert and pay attention for a month you should begin to see definite trends develop. Do you like portraits, or landscapes. D you prefer realism and shiny surfaces, or a more urban vibe with sketchy lines and sprayed on colour. Should the motives evoke excitement or relaxation? Should they be neutral, or colourful, or structural?
2. Decide what you can actually afford
In my early days of home making I was a fairly poor young wife, newly arrived in the country where I have lived ever since, thinking about decorating my second apartment, and generally feeling that without access to hand me downs and second hand furniture, art was a frivolous expense that could not possibly be justified in the absence on dining-room chairs. At that point I may have been able to spring to 200 euros for a piece of artwork I liked. Unfortunately the pieces I liked had price tags starting at around 5000. An almost fantastic price in comparison with my minimal budget. I hardly liked to admit that I could have spent 200 because that was a price that I did not associate with 'real' art. Yet now, as an artist, I realize that there are artist who would be happy to take that 200 from me at any time. I am confident of this fact as I myself am such an artist.
Here is a selection of four paintings all of which are available at this time for under 200 Euros.
Knowing how much you can spend on art will make your search and choice much easier. Budgets differ and those who can spend a few million must define their top price in the same way that a person with a smaller budget does.
3. Start to look for artists whose work you admire
While I obviously would love you to want to buy my work I am aware that everyone's tastes are different, what you love might be available from me, or a friend of mine, or someone whose work I don't really care for, or a world class painter with an exalted reputation and price tags to match. Either way there are steps to obtaining it.
I believe that art evokes an emotional response, whether it is a reminder of a happy time, an expression of a troubled soul or a memory that is special to the viewer, a piece of art usually chooses you. Sometimes there is the added bonus of the fact that you really like or feel a connection with the artist.
While every artist is unique, art does experience trends just like everything else in life. If you love pastel baskets of flowers, there will be many artist who specialize in them, if you like landscapes of the beach, or charcoal portraits of the homeless, they too will be available from a variety of artists.
Here is a graphite rendering of an owl which I made about a year ago. While it is uniquely my work it falls into the current trend of natural history subjects. Nature and animals are in at the moment.
4. Narrow down your search- matching budgets to artists
Once you know what types of art you like and have seen a few artists that you like it is time to get serious about finding artists who produce work that fits into your budget.
There are a number of ways to do this:
- Take advantage of a galleryist
While I assume that the majority of the readers of this post don't go to auctions to bid on rare and valuable paintings, I must state that if your budget is sufficient to do so, you can leave a lot of the footwork to a good galleryist. Choose one whose gallery already contains pieces you find asthetically pleasing. Let them know what you are looking for and leave them with your name and phone number. An approximate budget might help them out as well. Artist pay gallryists a fairly high percent of the final price because they work hard for both the artist and the buyer. I bought a number of vintage (?) woodcuts created by a late freind of my husband's family at a local gallery. They know that I like this specific artist and have my number in case more of his work comes in.
- Go to local art shows
Artists often pay a premium for slots at a nice art show which means that the work on display will be a bit more expensive. It is a great place though to gain inpiration and even to pick up a piece if your price range is fair.
Don't overlook other thypes of markets as a source of art. An Easter, Christmas, or tourist market might have a few nice pieces nestled between the sweets and trinkets.
I found this piece at a ceramic fair a number of years ago. It hangs in my living room and I love it.
Tip: some artists offer fine art prints, sketches, or even prints mounted on woodblocks at much lower rates.
Below is a print of my Buffalo rendering ( original not for sale). The prints are very reasonable in comparison with an original piece.
- Local/neighborhood artist
This can be a toss up as many artists are tempted to point out their larger, more expensive pieces when an interested, potential customer comes around. And it is true that some artists put an extremely high value on their work, however there are also many who have studios overflowing with work which they would love to convert into actual cash and who would love nothing more than to turn a casual drop in into a sale.
Tip: if there aren't a lot of prices on the work, just ask. There are artists who charge a ton and only reveal the prices when directly confronted, but there are also quite a few who, like myself, keep meaning to make price tags but somehow just keep getting distracted by making more art.
Online:
When I stood there in front of those beautiful paintings of vineyards in Toscana with price tags 10, 20 or 50 fold higher than I could afford, most artists weren't yet online. That has changed. Many not only have websites now but are quite active on facebook, twitter, and especially, that most useful of platforms, Instagram. The number of excellent, relatively unknown artists on Instagram is staggering. And somehow we all find and follow each other.
If you like a persons work look to see who they follow, you might well find other artists who create work in a similar vein.
5. Approaching an artist
In person:
In art the prices are often at least a little bit flexible. Of course, in the case of an auction they are flexible upwards. If you see a piece you love and the price is just a little bit above your top budget make an offer. The worst that can happen is that the answer is no. But about 7 times out of ten I have accepted an offer or been the recipient of a discount on a piece that originally cost slightly more than I could manage.
Tip: If you really like a framed piece on paper you might be able to purchase it without the frame. Framing can be an expensive process for the artist. It ads value to the piece. It is also possible that the artist has similar pieces that are not yet framed.
Online:
There is nothing more exciting to recieve and daunting to write than a short note saying how lovely a piece of artwork is and asking how much it is going for. I quale and sweat when I write such a message, but rejoice and hope when I recieve one. If you like the work ask about it. If it is outside of your price range just say so. No need to raise false hopes. If the response reads, 'Thanks for the message, that piece costs 5000', and your budget is 600 dont just fade away into the background, send a quick message back saying how much you love it but adding that your budget is actually between 400 and 700. If they have something in that range you will probably get a response fairly quickly, otherwise move on to the next artist.
At the time I am writing this there are many artists who are experiencing a change of income due to covid-19. Many of them are offering older work on Etsy at lower prices, some are using special hashtags to offer work at lower prices. try looking for some of these hashtags-
#artistsupportpledge
#buyartfromartists
#oilpainting
#landscapepainting
#animalart
#acryliconcanvas
and so on. Search by the subject matter as well as by medium used.
A few platforms to check out are:
etsy:
Toby Davis, an online artist friend whose work I have admired for a long time put work up on etsy as a result of the cancellation of the markets he usually attends. I am delighted to have found a piece that I could afford.
Instagram:
Janis Goodman is a printmaker in England. I have followed her for a while and just recieved a print that she sold under the hashtag #artissupportpledge.
Facebook:
I really love African art and found this beautiful piece which now hangs in my dining room on Facebook. It is created by C-Kle Martey. A Ghanan artist, and a new Facebook friend.
Websites/ Blogs: Check out artist's websites and blogs. If they share a post featuring a project they are working on, ask if it is for sale- here are a couple of pieces from my own blog.
Antiqueshops-
This wont actually help an artist at this point, but antique shops are often a good source of original artwork. I got this small landscape from a nearby shop. It hangs like a little window in my kitchen.
Swap:
Are you an artist or do you offer a service to an artist. They might be willing to make a trade. I know of artists who have paid their tax accountants and dentists in paintings. Some artists swap with each other. It is important that both parties feel like they got the better end of the deal. This painting is by my father. The swap was entirely in my favor as he painted it while I cooked lunch.
* A quick note on pricing: The price of a piece of art is influenced by a number of factors: The relative 'fame' of the artist- their name, the medium they use (from high to low price: oil-acrylic-watercolour- drawing- sketch), The artist's location (most charge a similair price within a geographical region), size (obviously all things being equal a larger piece will cost more than a smaller piece. This only applies for similar items, an easy example is that a diamond is worth more than a pair of nice shoes) and ability. If you can minimize one of these aspects you can drive the price down. For example, I bought a beautiful, large painting by an African artist in Africa. His geographical price comparison was lower than the one I experience in Europe. Thus I got a fantastic piece of art for a little less than if I had bought a similar item here.
6. Enjoy your new acquisition
Art is meant to be lived with, and unless you have purchased an extremely valuable piece as an investment, I encourage you to find a place in your home or office where you will really enjoy it. Most pieces are made to be hung and are safest on the wall. Large paintings can stand on the floor.
I hope that this has helped to give you a few ideas and helped to encourage you to see original art as something you can absolutely add to your home no matter your budget. If you are interested in any of my work check out the sizes and prices page or just ask. I have quite a bit on Instagram as well (@sarahloeckerart). I am always ready to listen to an offer, but be ready to bargain. I love to negotiate.
And if you like my blog but prefer another artists work I encourage you to get out their and find something you love.
If you liked this you might enjoy a post over on the Simply Luxurious Life blog which features a few of my small sketches in decorating (this is an older post).
disclaimer- this post is intended to help art lovers to find pieces
they love at prices they can afford. It is not intended to be a guide
to buying art as an investment. I have no experience in that area
whatsoever, I can only suggest that if that is the goal you buy my art
and encourage all of your friends to buy too so that the value will go
up as quickly as possible;)
* My Urban Sketching Workshop in a box 'boxes' are almost gone. If you haven't ordered one and still want one let me know- you can send me an e-mail at: sarahjloecker@gmx.at (If you are reading this on your phone and reply to it I wont be able to see your reply unfortunately). More about the boxes here.
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