When buying art for your home it is important at the outset to decide what you are buying art for. Peoples reasons split into three main categories ; decorating, collecting or investing and what you need to look for in each is very different. This article gives some tips to help you decide what kind of art to buy.

It is important at the outset to decide what you are buying art for. Peoples reasons split into three main categories ; decorating, collecting or investing and what you need to look for in each is very different.

For most people art is about buying something nice to put on the wall, something that gives you aesthetic and emotional pleasure and says something about themselves. It is not being bought as an investment and does not need to be original it just needs to look good in that room and be something the owner likes.

The traditional choice for decorating once you get past student poster days is a framed print. Prints can be bought in high street galleries and shops or online. Look for places with lots of choice in the styles that you are interested in, just spent some time browsing to find things you like, if like me, you and your partners' tastes don't often agree then this can take quite a long while. Don't worry about frames at first, just find the right print and sort the frame afterwards most high streets have a framer close by. If you want to go a bit more upmarket than a basic print then limited edition prints are of the highest quality and sold in a limited production run, sometimes with artists signatures as well.

The investment value of most of these is suspect, don't expect it to appreciate in value so you often get better value with a print. An alternative to a limited edition is to get a reproduction picture painted. Oil paintings have a warmth to their colour that no print can reproduce, an oil painting brings a higher quality feel to a room. As they are individual works if art they are also more unique than a print. These can be painted of any picture (copyright permitting) at a very reasonable price (e.g. $150 to $800) by quite a number of artists studios worldwide. Quality does vary quite substantially between studios, so take a good look at examples of their work or look for a good money back guarantee so that you have nothing to lose. One of the best oil painting reproduction places is Art Specialist Most of these places will ship you a rolled up painted canvas and you get it framed locally, however some will frame it for you although delivery cost is much higher. Oil paintings reproductions do hold their value fairly well.

To find interesting works try going round public art galleries, note down the artists and name of paintings you like and then contact a reproduction artist to copy it for you. If you are collecting then you will need to decide on some themes for your collection, what kinds of art and artists are you going to build your collection around. Seek out artists whose careers have yet to take off, or who have only recently graduated from art school as good sources of interesting, reasonably prices original art. Go and have a wander around some galleries, don't be put off , some might look intimidating but most are friendly and helpful and only too keen to help you. Also, try looking online as there are now many galleries showcasing original art from all sorts of artists at every price level. The knack is to buy art that you really like and enjoy, and at the same time select pieces that go together in some way to form a collection that feels like it belongs together.

As for buying for investment, then buying art to make money is a dangerous thing to attempt and best left to experts. It has to be said that anyone who thinks they can invest in contemporary art and then sell it on quickly at a profit is likely to be very disappointed.

Best to collect art that you really like and maybe, if you are lucky, a long while in the future some of it may be worth something. If not, at least you had the pleasure.