Finding Art on a Budget: How to Buy What Speaks, Without breaking your Wallet

If you, like me, want to invest in quality art that reflects your individual style and taste, yet struggle with too much month at the end of your money, let’s chat! Read on and we’ll cover some ways to look for an art masterpiece that speaks to your soul without your wallet looking at you like a lost puppy that’s just been kicked… repeatedly…  

Table of Contents:

• Before your Start
• Shop Local and Support Emerging Artists
• Explore Online Marketplaces
• Consider Prints and Posters
• Frame Smart to Save Money
• Be Patient and Buy with Intention
• Curate, Don’t Clutter

Before You Start: Understanding Your Taste and Your Budget

Before we even start thinking of shopping, we’re going to need to do a little prep work. This prep work is essential for anyone looking to find the perfect art piece for the perfect space with limited funds. For this prep work we’re going to make sure that we know for absolute certain a few key things. We need to know what we like and want to surround ourselves with. Then we need to know exactly how much money we have for buying what we want. Taking the time to define these things will help you avoid impulse purchases and focus on finding affordable art that truly resonates with you and ultimately makes you happy. 

The first thing to get really clear on is to get a good feel for what kind of things you like to surround yourself with and what you like to look at on a regular basis. I’ll start by using myself as an example to highlight what I mean here. I for one am a huge sucker for bright and colorful illustrative pieces with what I call “Nerd Themes”. You know, the kind of thing you’d see on a Magic the Gathering card or in a Dungeons & Dragons book. Basically if there’s a Dragon I’m in, bought, and sold. What I want is dragons and knights and wizards and magic and I want it everywhere. For you this could look like contemporary pieces with beachy vibes that remind you of a cool ocean breeze and sand between your toes. Or maybe you love more classical styled pieces featuring historical themes for that dark academia themed reading nook you’ve got in the works. Do you love minimalist prints of Hellenistic mythology? Whatever it is that tickles that “I Love It and Want it to be Around” response is really what we’re trying to get a better picture of here.

Once we have your individual taste sorted out, it’s time to define our budget. So here’s where things get a bit more real. You're going to need to know exactly how much you have available to spend on art. Unfortunately for you and for me, art has to come second to survival needs like eating, sleeping under a roof, and having basic hygiene. That means we need to buy art with what’s left at the end of the month after our other bills are paid and not live like a fifteenth century french king for all of 11 minutes until our food bill hits. 

I highly encourage you to sit down and figure out exactly how much you have to spend on artwork and then PLAN with that money. Use whatever resources you need in order to do that. If you need a budgeting app, use an app. If you’re a spreadsheet girlie, use a spreadsheet. If you're a vibes based budgeter, get one of these other friends to help you because Lord Knows you need help. Whatever you need to get that number solidified, do it because it’ll probably improve other areas of your life too.

Tips for Buying art on a budget 

Now that we have our budget and our vibe, we’re going to get into some of the ways to find and to buy art cheaper and within our budget so listen up.

1. Shop Local and Support Emerging Artists

One of the best ways to find budget-friendly art is to explore local art communities. Visit student art shows, local galleries (like Trellis & Vine, hint hint), and craft fairs—these venues often showcase original work by emerging artists at accessible prices. Not only will you find unique pieces, but you’ll also be supporting creatives directly. Working with a local gallery like Trellis & Vine (I can’t make it anymore obvious here people) could even be a great starting point to finding out more about what’s available in your local community too. We do our best to stay informed about our local arts scene so we can help you and our artists know where best to meet the right people. Working directly with a gallery like Trellis & Vine can help you quickly and effectively match your budget with a quality piece of art that has the exact vibes you're looking for. 

Pro-Tip: When looking for local galleries specifically, try to look for ones that work with emerging artists. We’ll have another blog post about all the ways supporting local and emerging art is important, but for our purposes here it will be way more budget-friendly to buy work from an emerging artist who doesn’t have as much demand (yet… but their value will keep going up the longer you wait, so we’d suggest investing now). At Trellis & Vine we work almost exclusively with emerging and local artists so you can be sure you’re getting the best deal while also supporting an artist in your community who is building their body of work.

2. Explore Online Art Marketplaces

If you can’t find what you want locally, buying art online really gives you access to tons of options. The downside to the internet is that there are going to be bad faith actors at every turn. And look, I’m not going to pretend like you don’t know that Instagram or Etsy or Pinterest exists. If you made it onto our blog, you’re probably tech savvy enough to google search and find what you want on the internet. I’m here to offer some guidance so that you can be sure that you’re buying your art ethically, sustainably, and most importantly getting exactly what you want within budget. 

Generally you’ll want to buy directly from an artist or from a gallery that has a good reputation. Any good gallery will be working directly with the artist to promote them and make it simple, easy, and predictable to buy that artist’s work online. Remember, emerging artists are where the accessibility and price are going to win out for budget-friendly options. Any other tips I could give here basically all boil down to “Do your research”, "Be safe”, and make sure you’re buying from a real person if at all possible. That looks like buying direct from a website or etsy link the artist provides and looking at galleries that are upfront about who they work with. If you can do that then there’s a much better (although it’s not zero) chance that you’ll unknowingly buy from a copycat or AI generated nonsense. (AI is a whole other topic we can get into later.)

3. Consider Prints and Posters

We all would love to own original art if possible, unfortunately the original piece will always be the most expensive. It’s the one that’s had the most time and effort put into it, which is where pretty much all the cost lies. If original artwork isn’t in your budget just yet, high-quality art prints are an excellent alternative. Just remember to be safe when searching online and to buy directly from the artist or gallery whenever possible. 

Another alternative you’ll probably see, is some sort of print-on-demand style mug or mousepad or other daily use item printed with the art in question. If you love art and don’t have space on your wall, or if you’re the type of person who isn’t sure how to engage with art. That’s also a great way to get started. I personally have several books, mousepads, and mugs that feature artwork that I love and couldn’t afford the original or large print of but still wanted to be able to look at regularly. 

Pro-Tip for my artists out there: Making art affordable and ready to be engaged with is the absolute best way to sell your work to everyday people. You know, those people who may not be a full-on collector or artist themselves but still love your work. We have another blog post on why and how you should do this so go check that one out too.

4. Frame Smart to Save Money

A good frame really elevates and completes any art piece. If you’re buying unframed pieces or prints then framing can take something from mostly done to complete and finished feeling. Framing can sometimes cost more than the artwork itself, but there are ways to do it affordably. Look for standard-sized prints that fit into ready-made frames. Then all you have to do is find a frame you like from a big box store like IKEA or Target. Alternatively, you could find a frame from our favorite way to frame pieces, thrift shops. It takes a bit of work and patience to find the perfect frame, but you get the added benefit of keeping stuff out of landfills and getting it cheap.

If you’re handy and have the time and patience, you might even consider giving DIY framing a shot. There are plenty of online tutorials you could use to learn if you’ve got the time. Just don’t expect the DIY route to be cheaper in the short term. Tools, materials, and time add up in cost and it takes a minute to get good at it. You might not beat out a Michael’s frame right away. All that said though, a simple, well-chosen frame can elevate even the most modest piece of art and make it look gallery-worthy.

5. Be Patient and Buy with Intention

Building a meaningful art collection takes time. You won’t always connect right away with every piece you do decide to eventually own. Other times you do in fact just want to purchase that original piece or limited print run your new artist friend made because it just speaks to you. We will never encourage you to buy art just to buy art. If you don’t like it, it’s probably not going to be a good long-term purchase. Either way, patience and setting money aside are key if you really just have to have it. Set money aside like you would for hobbies or big projects so when those opportunities do come up you’re ready to take advantage of them. Then sign up for newsletters from your favorite artists or galleries to get alerts about sales, limited edition drops, or discount codes. Buy what you like and save up if you can’t right now. If it’s worth investing in, it’s worth saving for and buying intentionally. And you know, when that relative asks what you want for Christmas or your upcoming birthday, perhaps you can do a gentle nod to the art piece you’ve been eyeing for the last few months. Just because it’s a valuable piece of art doesn’t mean you have to be the one shelling out the big bucks either. 

6. Curate, Don’t Clutter

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s really easy to get swept up in the excitement and the deals. Buying everything you take a minor interest in also isn’t good for your wallet. (My fellow Neurodivergent folks listen up.) When buying art on a budget, first and foremost make sure that it works with what you want it to do. We’re not going to shame you if your style is an eclectic collection of works you vibe with. But if there’s no real connection or throughput in your collection and it feels disjointed and cluttered, that’s not good either. A small, thoughtful collection you love will always be better than a big collection you just kind of like. If you need some ideas for curating you can always group works by theme, color, or artist to create a cohesive look. Or you can organize a group of artworks per room, wall or other defined space and showcase your variety of tastes throughout your whole space. Whatever you do though, make sure it works for you and your style. Sometimes, if there’s no defining cohesion to the collection, a less is more approach can have more impact than a bunch of pieces crammed together.

Final Thoughts

Art is deeply personal, and collecting it should bring you joy—not financial stress. With a little creativity and research, affordable art collecting becomes a fun and fulfilling experience. Whether you're decorating your first apartment or updating your living room, there's no reason you can't do it stylishly—and on a budget.