How to Find Fantastic Affordable Art: Follow the 3 A's

How to find fantastic affordable art, it's easy when you follow the 3 A's! These two East Asian style watercolor and gouache paintings show pretty yellow and brown birds on branches with flowering yellow blooms.

So, I may have mentioned before that I am a lover of art! And, when it comes to decorating my home…my walls take center stage! I love hanging original artwork on all my walls! I hardly have any wall space to spare! So sometimes people are amazed when they look around my home and ask: where did you find all this art?…and isn’t it sort of pricey?… So how do I find fantastic affordable art?…easy…I follow the 3 A’s!

A colorful vintage still-life watercolor painting of pink and red poppies is framed in gold is displayed in the kitchen with plants.

Sometimes people don’t know where to search for art. And they always think handmade art is so expensive. So, when I’m looking for something beautiful and interesting to adorn my walls, and I want to stay on budget, I stick to the 3 A’s. The three A’s are: Art Shows, Antique Shops, and Auctions. They are a great place to start. And when I have these 3 resources in mind, I’m always successful!

To find Fantastic affordable art look at an online auction site. I found these two beautiful East Asian style yellow and brown birds with yellow flowering branches.

#1. Art Shows

One of my favorite weekend activities is to visit our local art shows. There are several where I live, and when the weather gets warm it’s one of the first things I like to do. The wonderful thing about these weekend art shows is that you never know what you are going to find. There is a wide variety of everything on display…there is something for everyone! There are lots of ceramics, fun sculptures, and plenty of photographs, but what I really look forward to are the paintings. My husband and I have really come to love the artwork of a local painter, Karl Feng! His watercolor paintings are so beautiful. This year we were fortunate to purchase a colorful cockatoo creation, and a few years ago we bought a black and white panda watercolor. He is a truly talented artist.

Two fantastic paintings made by Karl Feng a Cincinnati artist. One is a beautiful colorful watercolor cockatoo on a branch among palm leaves. The other is a black and white watercolor of two pandas.

A colorful cockatoo watercolor painting by Karl Feng a Cincinnati artist.

#2. Antique Shops

When we were first married we used to go to antique shops to find good quality vintage furniture. That was usually our main focus back then. But over time, I began to become enamored with all the unique variety of original paintings. One of my absolute favorites is a yellow farmhouse watercolor that we found… I just love it! It’s by a painter named Ralph Dornsife, a Dayton Ohio artist. This painting has hung in several different rooms in my house, and I never get tired of it. It’s magical! Around the same time, I found another watercolor by an unknown artist that I also love. It’s a still-life vase with poppies It’s so cheery and elegant and brightens up the whole room.

One way to find fantastic affordable art is to look in antique stores. I found these two original watercolor paintings:
a colorful vintage still life of a vase with poppies and a yellow farm house among green trees.

A vintage watercolor painting of a yellow farmhouse among the green trees is displayed on a kitchen counter with plants and a vintage green bowl of pinecones.

#3 Auctions

Auctions seem to have everything! And these days, online auctions are where it’s at! It’s very convenient and easy to shop for new and vintage art. I’ve mentioned it before, but we love an online auction house called Everything But The House (EBTH). Looking through the “Paintings & Drawings” section of their website is so entertaining, not to mention pretty thrilling if you WIN! Two examples of EBTH finds are my watercolor and gouache East Asian Birds On Flowering Branches as well as the Portrait of a Lady oil painting. I’ve got to say, that the last one is one of my all-time favorite pieces of artwork that we own. Remember, EBTH is an auction, so it’s a lot of fun to bid, AND you can find some excellent deals. My latest purchase of the bird paintings cost just under twenty dollars plus shipping. What a steal!

Two unpacked paintings from an online auction site. two watercolor paintings of a yellow and brown bird sitting on a branch with yellow blooms.

An antique oil painting of a portrait of a lady with dark brown hair smiling, displayed among potted plants and pincones.

I am definitely an ART lover! And I’m passionate about having nice quality pieces of art in my home. And I can tell you from experience, it does not have to cost an arm and a leg -It’s easy to find fantastic afforable art when you follow the 3 A’s. So I encourage you to go on field trips. Visit your local art shows and antique stores or check out an online auction site. See what you can find! Art is a necessity…it can inspire us all. It brings beauty, color, and warmth into a home and so much more. It lifts my spirits and encourages my creativity. So let’s all add some art into our homes !! And then LET’S GET HOMEY!!!

A living room with a wall of original artwork, a couch with textured pillows, and a wooden table with a coral lamp and plants.

A vintage oil painting of a portrait of a lady with dark, short brown hair and a slight smile.

A watercolor painting of a colorful cockatoo sitting on a branch with palm leaves by artist Karl Feng.

If you liked this article, please see my article “Who is the Mysterious Beautiful Lady in the Portrait?“, which is about one of my favorite paintings!
Here is a link to the “Paintings & Drawings” section of EBTH. Have fun!
For more on Karl Feng, see his website.