This is going to sound facile, but it's an honest answer: Buy what you like!

Really. I do mean that.

Starting slowly is a great idea, too. You haven't said anything about what your area is like, or what your budget is, but let's assume you have many opportunities to look at original art. If I were you, I'd start by getting on the mailing lists for all the galleries in your area and in as large a surrounding area as you'd like to travel to. Go to all the openings. Visit the galleries after the openings as well. Look at art, train your eye, figure out what you like.

Also, don't forget that you can look at and buy art at places other than galleries as well. You may have street fairs, art fairs, town festivals, artists' co-ops, auction houses, etc. And of course, any museums in your area, for looking at art. Check your local papers and any regional or local publications for listings of things to do; there may be other events as well. (In this area, every type of place imaginable seems to exhibit art: restaurants, bars and pubs, libraries, jewelry and antique shops....I once went to an art opening at an optician's shop! And owners of frame shops seem to be artists themselves, or interested enough to have shows complete with formal openings or just leave art up on their walls.)

Auction houses in this area seem to have two types of auctions. In one type, the art is usually by name artists, and the prices often reflect that. The same auction houses also run a second type of auction, sometimes called a "discovery" auction. The art sold through that auction supposedly is by unknowns that the buyer "discovers"; however, there's also a lot of not very good stuff there. But it usually doesn't sell for much either. You can get on the mailing lists for auction houses. Oh, and the good auctions here are simultaneously held on-site and online, so competition may well be worldwide.

Another way to see and acquire art is through studio tours. I live in an arty area, and there are various studio tours one can do. As an example, there's one coming up in the next couple of weeks. We've already bought our tickets, and we'll drive around the county on this self-guided tour. Will pop in and out of artists' studios....the artists will be there to discuss their work, and there will be pieces for sale. There will be painters, sculptors, photographers, etc.

This leads me to another point: you know this, I'm sure, but bear in mind that art sold through a gallery is not necessarily going to be art that will give you a good return on your money. You will be wanting to view it as art that you own because you love it and want to enjoy it. Gallery owners take their cut, so let's say you buy a painting for $1000. The artist received 40% or 50% of that....something like that. So if you decide in the future to resell that piece, a gallery owner will offer you something less than the current retail price. Depending on whether the artist is collectible, you might make a profit, you might break even, or you might lose money. You might not even be able to resell through a gallery at all. We have something stored away that we haven't been able resell yet. We broke even on a piece that we resold to the gallery from which we'd bought it. We have a piece by an artist whose similarly sized works sell for about 3 times what we paid....

It helps that that artist is dead. There's all that supply & demand stuff going on.... That artist isn't producing anything these days now, is she?

I just thought of another point, too: It seems a truism that people prefer buying art that relates to their own area. The value of artists' work thus usually reflects that. If an artist has painted landscapes here and landscapes of similar (or possibly even better) quality elsewhere in the country, the pieces showing local landscapes usually sell either first or for more money.Or both.

Here, where I live, landscapes and traditional/realism style generally sell better than abstracts. Figurative work sells, but not generally too true-to-life portraits, particularly if by living artists.

As always, the heierarchy is oil paintings and, I think, acrylics, over works on paper. I'm not sure how the various works on paper would be valued, but I'll guess watercolors, pencil, pastel, etc. would be valued higher than prints. And of course, limited edition prints over non-limited edition prints. Ditto photography.

Framing....if you see an unframed work on paper, plan to spend a fair amount of money having it framed properly. It will need matting (probably), the frame itself, protective glass...it's entirely possible to spend more on the frame than on the art. But in my view, the frame BECOMES an integral part of the art. It also protects it; in addition to keeping dust & dirt off the piece, there is glass that will protect works on paper from sun-fading.

One more thought just occurred to me: Often (although not always), a gallery will allow you to take a piece home to see whether you like it in your house. And sometimes to save yourselves from buyer's remorse! If you can take advantage of such an arrangement, you should definitely do so. We once hung a not inexpensive and very large oil, only to realize that there were things about the piece we didn't like after all. The gallery owner came to pick it up without any problems.

I'm sure I'm omitting & forgetting many things, but others can probably chime in. Me? I'd better stop now!

Lynxe, Thanks so much for taking the time to write that response. It's truly appreciated-- there are several things in there that I didn't know about.

I do live in an area where there are lots of galleries, fairs, etc. This is a whole new world for us and I am really excited about exploring it!

I can't wait to show your response to my husband.

I agree ... buy what speaks to you.

My grandparents were artists, so I have original artwork everywhere in my house. I personally prefer watercolors and pastels over oils, but that's just me. Look at lots of works and see what you prefer.

And find a good framer, ask artisits or friends with original artwork who they use. Different types of mediums need to be framed certain ways. For instance, pastels should be framed with a hidden mat that holds the viewable mats away from the artwork so that any pastel dust that falls (and it does over time) will fall behind the viewable mats and be hidden. So you need a framer that knows things like that.

I currently have some of my grandparents artwork at a gallery on consignment, the gallery takes 40% of the final price. So as lynxe said above, there are many places to view and buy artwork. Summers coming, and here we have lots of different art festivals ... a great place to view artwork and usually meet the artist.

Have fun!

Another source of original art is a framer. There's one in my area that many artists use for framing. Not only are their frame prices the best I've found, but they sometimes have art for sale and know of upcoming art shows.

I didn't realize the cut for the galleries was so much. Sometimes when you do find the artists they are even more difficult to negotiate with than the gallery in terms of price.

I am hoping people will post more about buying art here. I love love love original art but don't know enough to feel comfortable buying it. True buy what you like but I find it hard to have any idea of what a fair price is for a painting. Sure I might like a painting but I don't want to be a sucker and pay $YYY for something that is not even worth $Y.

Are you looking to buy original art that's just strictly something you love But will also hold some value? Or, are you looking to buy original art that you love that is much cheaper but may never hold any real resale value? Or, are you looking for a bit of both?
You have already gotten some good advice on resale value search but I wouldn't discount looking at student paintings from your local high school age Arts School exhibits (there are some talents young people out there). Also, believe it or not on rare occasions I have seen some nice original paintings at my local resales for rehab store at unbelievably low prices. I'm talking so cheap I couldn't buy a canvas and paint that cheap. Unfortunately though you might find something you like in the charitable places once every hundred visits, but you never know. If you are just starting out with "original" maybe you might want to mix it up a bit.

www.etsy.com has some good paintings

I would go to an art exhibit at a university. Thy have faculty shows, student shows that showcase undergraduate and separate graduate artists. They can provide a great value.

Also, buy art that speaks to you. I remember when I was going to art school that they say that art should be thought provoking. If you find yourself gazing at an art piece for a while, you will know that it is speaking to you. You don't have to know what it is saying (or even care) but you may spend lots of time thinking about it!

You need to educate yourself too, look around for a while to get an idea of what's really good and what you like. What you like initially might change as your eye develops.

You will likely get better pricing buying directly from artists. Definitely see about studio tours and studio open houses. Do you have a print studio nearby? Fine art prints are often a good way to start purchasing works (fine art prints are different from photo-lithographic or giclee reproductions of original works which are nothing more than glorified photocopies). Nothing will add more to the beauty of your home than art. You should be excited and take your time and enjoy he process of getting to know what you like.

For me, the most important part of gaining confidence in buying works of art was (and continues to be) learning some art history, what makes a painting great, and how each period of art led to the development of the following one.

Do you have Netflix? It's a bonanza for documentaries and Hollywood movies about artists and art movements. For example, type in "French Impressionism" and up will come dozen of movies about all aspects of this school of painting. If you follow their links, you'll be led to other eras and artists - from Michelangelo to Van Gogh to Picasso and on to tiny contemporary individual "schools" (e.g. the amazing story of the African-American Florida Highwaymen painters) and painters who stand alone in the way they apply paint or whatever to canvas.

The best series that Netflix offers is "The Private Life of a Masterpiece", which is a delightful education in how to look at particular paintings. No way to describe this great series accurately - it combines wonderful photography of the place where a work was painted, excellent commentary, and beautiful music.

Visit museums, galleries, art fairs, and go to the library to borrow some of those massive coffee table books - the stories of Italian, French, British, Japanese, Indian, and American schools of art. Or you could, e.g., concentrate on American painting. We are not an old country but we have produced some gorgeous schools and works - you'll know them when you see them. All this will help to train your eye and define your taste. You can look at lots of things online, but it's good afterwards to look at them in reality. Also, check to see if there is an artists' coop near you. Coops are great places to find original work at reasonable prices, and you will meet some of the artists, since they run the stores! When we travel, we always make it a point to visit artists' coops - have met some pretty neat people.

Then - buy wshat you like!

Try a google search for painting direct from the artists. I've purchased little paintings from dailypainters.com and the prices ranged from $100-140 for pieces up to 8 x 8. I've spent more on the frames than the art!

The thing about these sites is that you can see a lot of different styles and you and click on the artists' blogs and see a wide range of their work.

>>"I don't want to be a sucker and pay $YYY for something that is not even worth $Y"

I never consider what the art might be worth to someone else... I don't buy it for an investment, I buy it because I like it. To me, it's just a question of A) can I afford it at all? and then B) Do I want to afford it? Do I like it enough to pay that much for it?

I once saw some tiny paintings in a shop in Hawaii that were $125 each, and they were like 5x7. They were not detailed, it probably took the artist a total of 15 minutes to paint each one, including cleaning her brushes. I literally laughed out loud.

Then we went to Spain and there was a young man selling even tinier paintings, they were maybe 3 inches tall, and they were quite detailed, and he was selling them for 15 euros. We bought two and love them.