how to become an art curator

Linda is a seasoned writer and bedrooms authority. She loves sharing design trends, decor ideas, and useful tips with her readers.

Where to Buy Great Art for Your Home

Everything you bring into your home is a reflection of your personal style and taste. Whether it is a decorative vase, rug, or sofa, you've taken the time to choose just the right pieces to make your surroundings an extension of your personality, much in the same way you select art.

And these days, curating art for your home is easier than ever. Local artists abound, discount retailers make quality art affordable, and websites give us unlimited options to adorn our walls. Or you can literally take matters into your own hands and become the artist yourself.

Juried art fairs are a great place to find original pieces from local artists.

Southwest School of Art, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via flickr

1. Local Artists

If you live in a city with an art school, check the schedule of events for student exhibitions. You can buy original works for much less than at commercial galleries. And who knows, you may end up with a piece from someone who will someday become a famous, well-respected artist.

Attend art festivals in your area. They are great sources for up-and-coming artists. These festivals allow you to meet artists face-to-face and develop an ongoing relationship with them. Ask to be added to their email list and follow them on social media. Don't forget that you can always negotiate the price, especially if you wait until the event's final hours.

If you are lucky enough to live in a city that houses an artists' colony, you could have the opportunity to meet them in their studios. Most artists are happy to give you a behind-the-scenes look at their work and inspiration. If you can't afford one of their completed pieces, you may be able to purchase a rough sketch or conceptual rendering.

These big brick and mortar stores have a wide variety of art at a reasonable price.

Mike Mozart, CC BY 2.0 via flickr

2. Big Box Retailers

Those on a really tight budget know retail stores can be your best friends when selecting art for your home. Sure, they sell reproductions, but if you are looking to fill your walls with beautiful art and not spend a king's ransom, you can't beat stores like Target, Kohl's, and Ross. Discounters offer a wide selection of styles, mixed media, and subject matter at prices you can afford.

A number of websites that sell artwork make shopping much easier.

Daniel Foster, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via flickr

If you're not ready to invest the time it takes to physically shop for prints and posters, you can do so from the comfort of home. A growing number of online art purveyors sell everything from posters and canvases that are signed and numbered. The sky's the limit, and it is all categorized by style, color, and type for your convenience.

These are a few of my favorites:

Art.com has the biggest and best selection of budget posters and prints, in our opinion. You can find it all from Hello Kitty to Jackson Pollock. They will also mat and frame your purchases or put your selection directly on a textured canvas for that gallery look.

Minted is a hip and modern indy artist collective. Their offering is constantly changing and features on-trend art prints that you're unlikely to see on any of your friends' walls.

20 x 200 have prices that start at $24 and go up to $10,000--whatever your budget can withstand. 20 x 200 has been introducing art and artists to collectors since 2007. Their limited edition prints are created with archival ink on cotton rag paper. Each print comes with a sign and numbered certificate of authenticity from the artist.

Creating your own abstract art is fun, easy and relatively inexpensive.

Mom Spark

4. Create Your Own

Channel your inner artist and snap some photos of the things you love, take them to the local copy center, have them enlarged and frame them or simply mount them on sheets of foam core. There are also online sources that will take your photos to transfer them onto canvas.

Try painting an abstract in 30 minutes or less if you have some leftover colors of latex paint or tubes of oils sitting in the closet; use painter's tape and section off squares and rectangles on a large painter's canvas. Fill in the blocks with colors that coordinate with your room. You'll have a stunning painting a la Mondrian in no time at all.

Start a Conversation!

Rina1984v on January 13, 2019:

Great graphical collection of Pics, thanks for the post.

https://www.glaarchitects.com/

Linda Chechar (author) from Arizona on January 12, 2019:

Liz, it does take a while to find the exact print. I do like abstracts. As a matter of fact I recently created my own using the colors from open concept space. I used an old canvas print, applied gesso over it and went to town with a coordinated color palette of acrylics I had on hand.

Liz Westwood from UK on January 12, 2019:

This is a topical hub. Only today I was noting how a couple of framed abstract prints in a hotel room had been commissioned to pick up the key colours in the room and pull them together. I am still on the hunt for the elusive sunset/sunrise picture for our lounge.