Starting Your Art Collection: A Beginner’s Guide

Beginning your journey into buying art is an exciting and personal experience. The right piece doesn’t just fill a space—it adds personality, emotion, and a story to your home. Whether it amazes or intrigues you, art can become a meaningful part of your everyday life.

Start Small, Buy What You Love

You don’t need a huge budget to begin collecting. Limited edition prints and artist proofs are great entry points and often hold their value. Just remember to factor in extras like framing and delivery. Many galleries, including online platforms like UK Artists, offer payment options too.

Where to Look

Explore both online galleries and local exhibitions. Seeing art in person is wonderful, but browsing online gives you access to a wide range of styles and prices. Keep your room’s size and colour scheme in mind—but also let the art inspire your space!

Support Local Talent

Open studios, art fairs, and graduate shows are brilliant for discovering emerging artists and finding one-of-a-kind pieces at accessible prices. Speaking to artists directly adds extra meaning to your purchase.

Art Beyond the Home

Art works beautifully in offices, too. It enhances mood, sparks creativity, and makes a great impression on visitors. For something truly personal, consider commissioning a bespoke piece.

Caring for Your Art

Once you’ve found your piece, display it with care. Avoid direct sunlight and heat, and don’t hesitate to hire professional help for hanging. Always keep any certificates and receipts safe—they add to the artwork’s value and provenance.

Ready to Start?

Buying art is about following your instincts and choosing what speaks to you. Start small, stay curious, and enjoy the process. Visit UK Artists to explore original work from talented independent UK artists and begin your collection today!

UK Artists Exhibition 2020

 

More information

UK Artists Exhibition 2018 prize winners

Announcing the prize-winners of the UK Artists Exhibition 2018.

1st Prize: Ije 'Elements of Winter 8', mixed media. (top)
2nd Prize: Jenny Chan 'Hairdo Divas, tall brown', ceramic. (bottom left). Prize sponsored by Chrome Yellow Arts.
3rd Prize: Estelle Robinson 'Ladybird', pastel. (bottom right).
Congratulations to the winning artists.
The people's choice prize was won by Dominica Vaughan for her stunning oils on canvas 'Femme aux Plumes'

Charity Art Exhibition

WA Annual Exhibition 2013 Prize Winners

The Warwickshire Artists annual exhibition 2013 was held at Althorpe Gallery, Althorpe Street, Leamington Spa the first two weeks of October. 

Prizewinners were chosen by Tammy Woodrow from Leamington Pump Rooms Art Gallery and Gordon Fyfe from Keele University.

Below are the winning artworks and the judges comments.

1st Prize: Sheila Millward 'Still Knocking'

The judges thought this work to be particularly original in its re-interpretation of a familiar religious story. 

They felt that the collage of found art, in juxtaposing driftwood and an old engraving, worked at more than one level.  

It conveys the original allegorical meaning that finding redemption merely requires the sinner to ‘open the door’. And it adds a new layer of meaning by inviting us to imagine that we, the viewer, might discover Hunt’s Biblical message in the accidental association of the remains of a door and a worn Victorian reproduction of the original.

2nd Prize: Hilary Roberts 'Boy with Cockerel'

The judges found this photographic portrait striking.  

They liked the way in which the tight composition of boy and animal invites us to return the boy’s gaze, to speculate about the relationship between the two and, perhaps, to imagine their possible futures.

Themed Prize (Man versus Nature): Katharine Barker 'Past Perfect'

The judges felt that this work came closest to the competition’s brief with its exploration of the effects of time on the cultural heritage. 

They thought that the abstraction of this work was particularly successful because it had something to say about the universality of man versus nature and the fate of our civilization.

Two commendations

Ann Cole and Victoria Smith

The judges were much taken by both these works for the different ways in which they explored the relationship between Man and Nature.  

Ann Cole with her joyous celebration of the fruits of the table is a wonderful celebration of painting itself.  

Victoria Smith’s archival ‘take’ on a lost tradition of annual beach holidays is particularly clever and thought provoking.  

  

The People's Choice: Bronia Sawyer 'Sustenance'

Bronia's book sculpture won the People's Choice prize by an enormous lead over the other artworks in the show. Below are the results of the top ten favourites.

54. Bronia Sawyer - Sustenance.

18. Neil Phillips - Cosmos.

17. Sheila Millward - Still Knocking.

17. Katharine Barker - Close to the Storm.

16. Bronia Sawyer - Paper Flock.

15. Sally Carpenter - Drone Control Center.

14. Amy Dodd - Breeding, Beauty and Brains.

13. Hilary Roberts - Boy with Cockerel.

12. David Lewis - Langres, Rue de Joseph.

10. Amy Dodd - Great Expectations.

9. Sonya Bond - Courage, Dragonfly Landscape.

Warwickshire Artists exhibition at Arnold Lodge School

This week artists are opening their studios and holding exhibitions all over Warwickshire.

The Warwickshire Artists group exhibition is now under way at Arnold Lodge School, Leamington Spa. 18 members are exhibiting and all the details can be found here: http://warwickshireopenstudios.org/artistsevents/warwickshire-artists-exhibition.aspx

I do hope you can visit, open 10am to 3pm Tues 9th, Thurs 11th, Fri 12th, Sat 13th and Sunday 14th July (closed wed). 

A chance to grab yourself an affordable original or print by a local professional artist.

Our exhibitions page shows other exhibitions where our members are exhibiting or opening their studios

https://www.ukartistsonline.com/exhibitions-by-county.aspx