Cheap, crappy art or no art?

[Gus]

I had a friend who moved into a loft. It had lots of wall space but he didn't have any art. An artist friend went around to junk yards. They found an old truck door that had ben badly bent in an accident, with contrasting paint scratches, etc. They hung it on the wall and put a little cheap spot light on it. It came across as a cool sculpture.

 

[turboman808]

Can't afford $2000 or more for paintings. I wouldn't buy stuff from Ikea or Bed Bath and Beyond. I do have alot of candles from bed bath and beyond though. I buy alot of canvas recreations on Ebay. They look very good and with a really nice frame you can still come in under $300. I go to the art meusem and see painitng I will just never have. But I can get a knock off of them for cheap.

Decor makes really beautiful frames http://www.decormoulding.com/ Canvas prints on Ebay Got several car prints this week since I am a car geek. Just found this ebay store. Really cool. They do the print and the frame and really good price. Masters online

 

[johnapril]

Originally Posted by musicguy

What do you guys think about Giclee prints?

We bought some of these because we have a child and didn't want real paintings destroyed. Just don't pay a lot for them.

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by musicguy

What do you guys think about Giclee prints?

It is a fancy word for inkjet.

It can vary a lot from really nice prints by people who knew what they were doing, used proper resolution files, color corrected properly, and used quality inks on quality paper from a quality printer to some guy in a basement using bad files on a printer that has been filled with knockoff inks and paper.

If they are good, go for it.

 

[StephenHero]

Get a high quality 48"x48" canvas and just paint it white or grey and have it framed well. Maybe a single horizontal zip will do.

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Do you have any friends who are artists? Or friends of friends? Two of my favorite pieces are from friends who are artists - one's a great etching that came framed for only $120. Another was a gift - great photo of the Brooklyn Bridge. Plus, instead of supporting <generic store>, you can support your friends. Everyone wins.

 

[unjung]

Student art shows seem pretty good. I have an abstract oil in my living room, 3' on the longest dimension, and I think it was $300. It's quite attractive.

 

[kwilkinson]

I hear Vanna will paint you a sweet painting for the small price of an ugly handbag.

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by unjung

Student art shows seem pretty good. I have an abstract oil in my living room, 3' on the longest dimension, and I think it was $300. It's quite attractive.

My cousin just graduated from MCAD and my mom would always go to the student shows at the end of the year.

I always wished that I would be in town that weekend because she has found some pretty cool things and the prices are low (especially on some beautiful work by the kids in the illustration program). IIRC the first day has an entrance fee or is only open to certain people (or somethign like that) and the rest of the weekend is a free-for-all...it may be this way at other art schools.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

I went with option #1 and now I'm regretting it, as my cheap posters and prints are out of place in my nice apartment. Good art doesn't have to be expensive if you buy directly from the artist and avoid the gallery markup (roughly 50% of the price you pay at a gallery). Go to flea markets, art shows, and art studios. If you see a piece you like in a coffee shop, find out the artist's name and contact him/her directly.

 

[radicaldog]

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.

Or try the flea market in Fremont. You never know.

 

[breitlingman]

Originally Posted by unjung

Student art shows seem pretty good. I have an abstract oil in my living room, 3' on the longest dimension, and I think it was $300. It's quite attractive.

+1 My fiance was in the fine arts program at her University and at the end of every year they would have an art show for the students. Every single peice was for sale and always had a price. You can usually score a very nice peice of art for $100-$1000, depending on the scale usually.