Life
5 Websites for Buying Original, Affordable Art
Ready to move beyond Etsy for affordable, original art? Take a look at these five sites. Some are tightly curated by teams of artists, while others function more as art clearinghouses. But all five offer limited-run prints or one-of-a-kind pieces for as little as $20. And a few even have a socially-conscious mission, with portions of each sale going to a charity the artists chooses.
Image: "Delectable Duo" by Nate Duval, available on Tiny Showcase
Ready to move beyond Etsy for affordable, original art? Take a look at these five sites. Some are tightly curated by teams of artists, while others function more as art clearinghouses. But all five offer limited-run prints or one-of-a-kind pieces for as little as $20. And a few even have a socially-conscious mission, with portions of each sale going to a charity the artists chooses.
Image: "Delectable Duo" by Nate Duval, available on Tiny Showcase
The Working Proof
The Working Proof sells limited edition art prints from emerging artists, with 15 percent of all sales going to a charity of the artist's choice. Prices start at $35 for 8x10 prints, with some available in larger sizes for a higher price. Founders Anna Corpron and Sean Auyeung are both printmakers who blog at Sub-Studio Design.
Image: "Crow Hat" by Madame Lolina
Zatista
Zatista is an original art clearinghouse, connecting online sellers and buyers from around the world. The site features around 4,000 works at any given time and a "view in a virtual room" feature that lets you visualize the piece in your home. Prices range from $98 to over $2500, with plenty of paintings in the $100-$300 range.
Tiny Showcase
Tiny Showcase has been around since 2004, selling small, limited-edition prints for $20-$50. Each week the no-frills site features a new work in runs of 20 to 100. I've been a fan of Tiny Showcase since around its inception, and though it features a wide variety of works there's an overarching whimsy to founders Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea'la Finch's selections. There's also a do-gooder element: a percentage of the money from each print is donated to a charity the artist chooses.
Image: "Remnant of Myth" by Andy Kehoe (sold out on Tiny Showcase)
ARTtwo50
ARTtwo50 is a new app that lets users browse and buy art from their phones or tablets. Each original work sells for a uniform price: $250. The app also lets people upload a photo of their home so they can see what a piece might look like hanging on their wall.
One Day Gallery
Until February 2013, One Day Gallery debuted a new piece of original artwork daily, with each new work featured on the front page for three days or until sold. The price increased slightly each day until it was placed in the permanent gallery at a fixed price, usually between $20 and $100. Though the site hasn't been featuring new works lately, pieces in the archived gallery are still for sale.
Image: One Day Gallery on Facebook
