Oil (or other) paintings? Best sources?

[Anonymous]

Go to art festivals (once they start up in person again). If you buy directly from the artist it will be cheaper than from a gallery. You could also find bargains from students and new artists.

There's a local art festival called Artomatic. It used to be held in vacant office buildings in Crystal City. In recent years it started to move around and it's not held every year anymore, so you need to check their website and get alerts. Anyway it's huge, and anybody can enter. I've come upon these gorgeous waterscape oil paintings by a Turkish artist who was selling them for 100 each. Those were snatched up pretty quick. Lots of hits and misses, but it's really one of the best places to dip your toe into the local art scene and discover amazing works for less.

[Anonymous]

I have bought a few pieces off of Saatchi and really loved them. We generally try to stop by art galleries when on vacation to get something that also is sentimental to us, but I’ve been able to get art related to or from places that are special to us from Saatchi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another place, but not sure if it’s open bc of covid, is the torpedo factory in Arlington. You get to shop directly from the artists and it’s super fun

Torpedo factory is in Old Town Alexandria, unless it branched out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been taking note of houses/looks I like and I've noticed that when a house has artwork - especially paintings - I just like the feel of it. Especially scenic/outdoor scenes, kind of a classic look.

Where would you look for artwork like this to build up a look more quickly, and inexpensively? I bought one off EBTH, and I love it. I want more but auctions are stressful (I got mine for $125 (15X&, nice frame) - I don't have hundreds to spend per picture.) I'm looking at online estate sales. I have a few from past travels - locations we've visited. But I want more, and a mix of smaller and larger. Oils, watercolors, pastels, etc.

Any ideas for seeing more? Broadening my exposure? And then buying less expensively? I got an unframed oil I really like off eBay (9X12, $35!). Just keep hunting and I will find more?

My try galleries that have online presence in addition to brick and mortar stores, eg:
https://www.askart.com/art_dealer_art_for_sale/Caldwell_Gallery_Hudson_II/45304/Caldwell_Gallery_Hudson_II.aspx

[Anonymous]

Antique stores on King Street (further from the river, closer you get to the river the more you pay). Type landscape oil painting on ebay and Etsy and see what you get. Check out etbh (everything but the house) as they have a lot of various type of art and sell it in an auction like ebay. It changes often but beware as they charge a lot for shipping. Sign up for local auction emails. I can’t think of any right now but if you google you can find some. There is weird stuff sometimes - office going out of business and selling conference room furniture. But there are some gems.

Agree with other posters to buy what you like. And be patient!

[Anonymous]

I like Henry Link paintings of NC landscapes, very soothing. If you like western landscapes, like aspens and mountains, Ken Elliot. Both are living artists with gallery shows here and there, and probably online sales too (haven't checked).