Buying and commissioning original works of art is fun and lets you decorate with unique pieces. However, it can feel overwhelming if you’ve never bought original art. You’ll want to review some tips before giving it a try.
This article has tips to help you pick the perfect art for your home. Here’s what you need to know!
1. Decide What Art You Like
First, you must determine precisely what kinds of art you like. If you don’t spend some time considering your favorite pieces, you may not get the art that you love. You’ll develop your tastes more with a better understanding of art and the available styles.
You’ll want to visit a local fine art gallery and museum. You can also browse tons of different art online and discover your tastes. Art galleries are the best option because they often showcase local artists and their newest works. You can build relationships and talk with the artists to learn more about the art that they make.
It’s normal for your tastes to change as you learn about more art, which is why we recommend conducting research before you buy your first piece. You can also consider taking art preference tests as part of your research. The APS (Art Preference Scale) shows you 30 sets of paintings and asks you choose between them to determine your preferences. It’s a good starting point for determining your tastes in art.
2. Set an Art Budget
Next, you’ll want to make sure you set a budget for the art before buying anything. You need to keep your purchase in a range you can easily afford. Otherwise, you can put a lot of strain on your bank account. Of course, if you love a piece that’s just outside your budget, you can always go for it.
You can also find art on any budget, whether you have $100 or $10,000 to work with. All you need to do is set an amount that you’re comfortable with, but give yourself a little bit of wiggle room. You’ll want to ensure that you also consider any shipping or insurance costs that come with the art.
3. Shop Locally for Original Works
It’s a good idea to shop locally too. Not only with this bring down the shipping costs associated with buying art, but it will also allow you to see the works in person before you commit to purchasing them.
Plus, you can build a connection with the artist and learn about what inspired them to make the art. You’re sure to appreciate the art much more when you know the whole story behind its creation.
Overall, you can support your community by buying from local artists. If you find an artist that you love, you can always commission unique works from them. It’s great to stay in touch with artists and galleries too, so you can learn about new pieces you might want to buy first.
4. Measure Your Space
When buying art, you need to make sure you have enough space to display it at home. You’ll want to measure the available area on your wall, so you don’t buy a painting that will look awkward there. You should always know the art will fit in your home before you buy it.
You can also decide how to place the art on the wall before it arrives. You can do this by trimming a piece of paper to the size of your painting using its exact measurements. Then, tape the paper to the wall to see how everything would fit. If you’re getting a very large painting, you may need to combine many pieces of paper to get them to the correct measurement.
Seeing how much space the wall art takes up will allow you to better arrange everything to look nice when it arrives.
5. Know How To Track Your Purchase
Whenever you buy art, you should have the option to track it. Since it’s precious to you (and possibly expensive), you must know exactly where it is from when it leaves the gallery or studio and arrives at your door.
You also want to document the entire tracking process. So, make sure you save emails, receipts, and other messages. That way, if something goes wrong during the delivery, you can easily figure out what to do next to receive your purchase.
You’ll also want to save all of this information to show to insurance if you have it on your art. Make sure to talk about how to track the shipment with whoever sells the art to you. You don’t want to go without it!
6. Don’t Rush into Buying
Next, you’ll also want to ensure you don’t rush into buying art. You want to consider how the piece will look in your home and its space. Then, you want to check your budget and think about how you feel about the art. You must love it, so you have something around that truly inspires you.
However, there are some exceptions to this tip. If you’re at a temporary event or auction, and you already know someone else is eyeing the same piece of art you are, then you may not want to wait. But, in most cases, you will have some time to consider the art you want to buy.
7. Ask About How To Take Care of the Art
Lastly, you must know how to care for the art you buy. Some artwork requires special care. You’ll want to know exactly what to do to ensure it has a long life.
Always talk with the artist about what you should d to ensure their work lasts forever.
Buy Your Favorite Original Pieces
To summarize, you must buy your favorite pieces. You want to choose art that inspires you and fills your home with a mood you want to capture. These tips will help you through the buying process, so you can focus on buying the art that you love the most.
