Cheap, crappy art or no art?

[JesseJB]

If you didn't have much money to work with, would you rather have bare walls or fill them up with "meh" paintings from Bed, Bath and Beyond, Ikea, etc.? I have some banal coffeeshop art up and have been telling myself I'll replace them later but haven't gotten around to it. I wonder if my place would be better of blank until I get "real art."

 

[kwilkinson]

No art, imo. If I thought it was crappy, I wouldn't spend money on it, let alone display it in my living space.

 

[Roy Biggins]

Make your own art for free (or for at least the cost of supplies).

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by JesseJB

If you didn't have much money to work with, would you rather have bare walls or fill them up with "meh" paintings from Bed, Bath and Beyond, Ikea, etc.? I have some banal coffeeshop art up and have been telling myself I'll replace them later but haven't gotten around to it. I wonder if my place would be better of blank until I get "real art."

I would probably never buy paintings from those places. I did buy a big b&w picture of SF from ikea that I liked. I don't think you have to have big money to find "real" art that you like. So many people buy art for all the wrong reasons, and the correct reasons to buy art will differ from one person to the next.

 

[Roy Biggins]

Another thought: go to local antique stores. You never know what sort of oddball painting or display piece that you will find and how little it might cost...

Otherwise, leave everything blank and paint the walls the brightest white possible.

 

[robin]

Are you still in downtown Seattle? Just go up to Capitol Hill and check out some of the galleries, particularly Blue Bottle. Many of them have originals or prints in the $20 - $600 range. There was also a good gallery down in one of the lower levels of Pike Place Market that specialized in showing low cost artwork from local artists, no idea if it's still there though.

And wtf is "real art". Buy something because you like it and not just because you need to fill up a wall.

 

[JesseJB]

Originally Posted by robin

Are you still in downtown Seattle? Just go up to Capitol Hill and check out some of the galleries, particularly Blue Bottle. Many of them have originals or prints in the $20 - $600 range. There was also a good gallery down in one of the lower levels of Pike Place Market that specialized in showing low cost artwork from local artists, no idea if it's still there though.

And wtf is "real art". Buy something because you like it and not just because you need to fill up a wall.
'
Yeah I'm still down there. I don't have a lot to spend but the more I learn what I like art-wise the more that I hate whats on my walls. It was bought to "match" the place but I'd like something more personal. I'll check out BB. Haven't been up there in a while. I was thinking it was closed for some reason. I'm going to see if I can find anything on a First Thurs. art walk or maybe those antique stores under the viaduct.

 

[dave]

You won't find art at places like Ikea. You'll find decoration.

That said, you should look in thrift stores and consignment shops. I've been collecting art for around 20 years now (some actually legitimate art too) and one of my favorite pieces was found in a thrift shop in Quebec city while I was in college. Just look around everywhere you go. It's everywhere man.

 

[JesseJB]

Legit advice guys. Ill check out some thrift stores too. For some reason I was thinking you had to be rich to get non-kitsch art.

That said, I tried taking down a ****** canvas print I have on my wall and it really made the place closed-in feeling so I put it back up. I'll just use them as placeholders until I get something I like. Id like to get something that supports local artists.

 

[Hany]

Collecting art: requires taste, not $.

 

[wmmk]

I second making your own art.

 

[robertorex]

I have an uncle who tells a story about how he bought a $10 painting at a garage sale to hang in his cafe, then some customer walks in and offers him $300 for it (which he takes) and then later he finds out that the painting he sold for $300 gets auctioned for $25,000

 

[musicguy]

What do you guys think about Giclee prints?

 

[BrianVarick]

Spend some money on a pretty decent camera like a Canon Rebel, and then take your own pictures, and then make them black and white and make a gallery in your house.

 

[wmmk]

Originally Posted by BrianVarick

Spend some money on a beautiful-but-still-less expensive-than-low-end-DSLR camera like an old Rollei, and then take your own pictures, and then make them black and white and make a gallery in your house.

FTFY