Local thrift stores are always friendly. I know some gals that buy things from Goodwill.com too.

I have had some good luck at Target in the past. Homegoods too. You can also check out Bed Bath and Beyond, Pier 1, World Market, Kohl's or Steinmart. But honestly, I now prefer buying a print I really like and having it framed. It's not cheap, but you'll get a much better quality picture that way.

You might be in an odd timeframe where no new stock is arriving; keep checking in and it will happen.

I usually try to find stuff I already own--kid art, photos, antique magazine pages or vintage book illustrations, clippings, etc, and then I can either get them enlarged or frame them as is. I do collect WWI posters but I've framed old calender art, too. I think looking around the house will turn up more personal items than mass-produced puppies, babies, bridges and bouquets. YMMV.

Check on on-line sites like www.art.com
There are countless options here...
Also, there is some very reasonably priced options on sites such as Etsy.

You can then buy ready-made frames at places like Michaels or even Ikea..

Very affordable...just need to spend some time going through different categories.

Happy on-line shopping!

If you have a Tuesday Morning nearby, they have a lot of nice art to choose from, often a lot of "unique" pieces that you don't see everywhere else.

Local auction place. They have a "town and country" auction once a month and a fancy one once a month. You never know what you will find and what things will end up going for.

I've found a lot of interesting art in yard sales and some in thrift stores. Can't beat the prices even factoring in cost of gas. Doesn't hurt that I find it an enjoyable 'hobby'. However, I know not everyone (fortunately) wants to yard sale.

IMO art can be something that one 'finds', not necessarily when one searches so keep an open mind and open eyes and with patience you will find what suits you best. Search out art shows in your local area as some artists will have reasonably priced original or limited print art. If you are satisfied with generic prints they are everywhere and inexpensive online, and shipping is either free or cheap. Craft stores such as Michaels always have lots of prints available as well as frames.

You might consider making your own art. There are lots of ideas online if you google. You might also frame fabric, wallpaper, your kids drawings, photos you've taken, architectural bits, old tools, letters, shells, or almost anything you find decorative. Frames can be purchased fairly inexpensively in many craft stores and especially at yard sales.

A local home buidler sold all his model homes and all the art they were staged with got sold at a warehouse sale. :0) The sale was listed on CL.

Another way to get art that you like is to buy super-cheap, but ugly thrift store framed art and then collage right on top of it. You can use scraps of fabric, paper, photographs, buttons, anything that you can glue down. You can make it as layered or as sparse as you want.

Another idea is to take a photo that you have taken yourself and have it printed on canvas. I look online to find who is the cheapest at the time...Wal-Mart is usually the least expensive. I submit the jpg online and have it delivered to my house. If you are handy with computer software, you can also manipulate the photo into looking like a modern art piece, rather than a photograph. If you don't want it on canvas, you can have it printed poster size for just a few dollars and pick up an inexpensive frame. I have done pictures of my cats, my husband and grandson, and my grandson by himself.

Some of the prettiest pictures I have are greeting cards with no print on the front, sent to me my friends and family. I have about 3 that I've framed myself.

Go to a Hallmark or a nice greeting card store and see if there are pictures on the card you really like, then buy a frame from Walmart.

Below is a link to an online store where I bought myself a framed print for only $15.00. But it's more country than anything. It's the top middle picture of the little boy pulling his cat on a sled. It reminds me of my boys at that age. sniff sniff.

And it's one of my favorites!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures

And don't forget about Etsy.com!

I buy most of my 'art' on shopgoodwill.com where i've been fortunate enough to find Pastoral prints I rarely see in antique stores. If I do find one, it's usually more than I want to spend. I prefer the muted colors and the country scenes of long ago more than new paintings found today.

In my MBR I have several Godey French fashion prints, and a few lithos, as well as other vintage prints. ;o)

We have had great luck at Kirkland's, too!

If you have a framing store near you, odds are they'll also have catalogs of prints they can order for you. Prices are all over the map.

Also try Overstock.com, we just bought some oil paintings from there and they look great. They might be a little spendy depending on your budget, but they are cheaper than a "real" oil painting that you would buy from an artist. They are basically printed on canvas and then someone paints over the top of it with oil paint so that it looks real.

Other things I love are prints of watercolors of places I've traveled, they are cheap and fit into store-bought frames. I also plan to frame a set of 3 postcards that are prints of old-time flamenco posters (advertisements for the April fair in Spain).

I have also had my own photograph blown up and put on a poster like Jeane suggested. I used a PhotoShop action called Hayes Island Variant to give it a painted look and also applied a canvas texture. The poster was $20 and fit into a store-bought frame. Our Aaron Brothers frame store has a buy one-get one for a penny sale a couple times a year.

Wow! Etsy.com is great! We do not have a Homegoods or Marshalls locally. Thanks for the ideas and keep them coming!