Early this year I decided that it was time for me to finally begin to collect some original artwork. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, but felt I could never really afford to explore. Well, it’s not that I hit the Lottery or anything, but I just decided that I would collect works that I truly loved and that were within my budget. I started with a search on Ebay. Here I found an artist from Maine, Laura Tasheiko. I love the vivid colors Laura uses and the themes she chooses. I was the lucky bidder for this beautiful watercolor:
Then, about 2 weeks ago, I read about Bernadette Sipkes, an illustrator living in Auckland, New Zealand, on Kristen Taylor Yarranton’s blog site, Taylor Made Designs. (Thanks for the tip, Kristen!) I bought these 2 wonderful prints by Bernadette through the Etsy Shop.
6" x 8", approximate size of both of these
Bernadette’s work is also so vivid and engaging! These three pieces of art were very affordable. I was able to purchase the 3 pieces of art above, all unframed. Now I have the dilemma of framing them. Everytime I bring anything to a frame shop to be framed it ends up costing me an absolute fortune. I think what I am going to do is scour some of the HomeGoods stores to see what I can find to adapt to my needs. HomeGoods has a great selection of artwork that is already matted and framed, usually with great looking mats and frames, for very good prices. I am hoping to find the right size I need for these pieces and replace the store artwork with these! Of course, if anyone else has any ideas of how or where to frame artwork without breaking the bank, please let me know! I don’t have a mat cutter and have never gotten into framing myself. Should I invest in one? Are they difficult to use? What happened to all those Frame It Yourself type stores, are they all gone? Any help surely appreciated!
Take a peek at decor8’s blog to see how others are displaying their artwork. Some very creative ideas there!
Oh lovely! I’m so glad you like her work and bought some. I’ve been thinking about getting her other prints and framing them all up as a series.
I’ll probably just go to pottery barn and buy black frames for these prints and use the existing mats. Or if the mats don’t work, just go to Micheal’s and have one custom cut.
There was a do-it-yourself framing place in Brookline somewhere. I can’t remember where, and if it’s still there.
Finding frames at homegoods or marshall’s etc. is always a great idea too!
Thanks for mentioning me!
You are lucky to find those fine artworks. Art collecting can be very fun and exciting especially if your collections tell a certain story on a subject.