Want To Collect Art and Not Sure Where To Begin?

This is one of the walls in my home.
Art by  Cidney Hochman, Anne Seltzer, Sandi Haber Fifield, Sterling Chow, Anne M Bray

First and foremost, please collect things that you love. Art that speaks to your heart. Hoarding art as investment pieces — what fun is that? Bragging rights? Pshaw.

OK, OK. I’m making some assumptions here.

You are new to collecting.
You don’t have oodles of cash, but you want to go “the next step” beyond that band (or Audrey quote) poster.
You want your walls to express YOU, and not look like all the insta-famous homes that you’ve seen.

How do you find art that’s unique?

You’re reading this on some sort of digital device, so let’s start online!

My bedside shelf includes a mini painting by Amanda Kavanagh that I bought from her Etsy Shop
(she is now selling from her website).

There are many sites where artists upload work for display and sale. Saatchi Art, ArtSlant, Etsy (to name a few), and my favorite, Society6 (where I have three separate shops: Anne M Bray, SpyGirl, Pattern Recognition). It can be daunting trying to find art amidst the thousands of artists showcasing their work, here is a great article from Society6 on ways to search for art on their site. Society6 operates as a service bureau for artists, printing their images on all sorts of substrates, (including paper and canvas) then shipping the work directly to you, the buyer.

I gave my boyfriend Hanksy’s Will Feral, L.A. that I got online from Gallery 1988.
It was shipped this way and I find the presentation part of the charm.

Most galleries have an online presence, some, like Gallery 1988, make it easy to shop from your computer. Others, like TAG (my gallery) showcase selections of their artists’ work, you will then need to contact the gallery by phone or email to make your purchase.

In your quest, you may find an artist you’d like to follow — check to see if they have a website, blog, Facebook page, and/or Instagram (they should!). Personally, I love having fans — find my social links at the top of the right sidebar. Additionally, less established artists are not adverse to direct sales — as long as you’re a serious buyer. Contact her/him and ask!

In Part 2, I’ll offer some suggested “bricks-and-mortar” places to find art to build your collection. Much art must be seen in person for full impact.

[This article was inspired by pitches from Artsy and Invaluable. Invaluable has a new blog, “In Good Taste”, and recently featured an article, How to Start a Fine Art Collection, explaining some vital tips for budding collectors.]