Ellen Scobie | Verosimile

Have you ever gone into a paint store thinking you'd get "white paint" and be confronted with sixty choices of white? What should be a simple decision turns out to be a bit overwhelming. You can be confronted with the same situation when choosing art. With so many styles, methods and prices of art on the market, where to begin?

Robert Rauschenberg, White Painting, 1951. House paint on canvas, 72 x 72 in, four panels.

Here are my top ten tips for choosing art:

1. Buy what you like. You've heard it before, take it to heart. Don't worry if your best friend says it looks like gravy slopped down the front of a shirt. You're the one that's looking at it and you should enjoy it.

2. Allow the art to move you. Does it bring a smile to your face? Cause you to pause? Perplex you? Remind you of somewhere, something, someone? Try to let yourself feel the art without analyzing too much why you like it.

3. Art is not a savings bond. Buying art as a financial investment is not a sure thing. Even those buyers who purchase old master artworks whose prices are in the stratosphere see much fluctuation in values. If you develop an eye for good contemporary art there are definitely many opportunities to purchase art from emerging artists whose prices may rise in the future. If this happens, and there is a resale market for the art, consider it a lucky offshoot to owning art that you like. Consider the ROI on a piece of art to be the enjoyment you get from it everyday.

4. It doesn't have to match your sofa. If you buy what you like, you'll have it for a long time. Your art will last longer than your sofa or wall color.

5. Cultivate a curator's instinct. If the variety of art available makes it hard for you to know where to start or how to proceed, be the curator of your own collection by creating some criteria. Are you interested only in contemporary art or would you like pieces from different time periods or styles? Perhaps you'd like to focus just on landscapes or abstracts? Do you collect limited edition prints, ceramic sculptures, interesting stuff you find in alleyways? I'm serious! Now you're becoming the artist. There are endless ways to approach this. Pick something out that you like and go from there.

6. Buy directly from the artist. There are lots of great options to buy affordable art directly from the artist at summer art fairs, art school end of year shows, community art events and online at artist's websites. You'll probably also get a chance to talk to the artist directly and learn more about the work you're interested in.

7. Spend a lot of time looking. Educate yourself by observing art in all its forms. Art is all around us. From your local art museum to the graffiti'd wall on the corner, human artistic endeavour is everywhere. Don't let preconceived notions of what is good art cloud your taste!

8. Buy what you can afford. The reputation and popularity of an artist, the quality of the materials used in creating the art, and the scarcity of the image will all factor into the price. Ultimately what you pay for art is what you're willing to spend. Buy what you can afford.

9. Prints are good value for money. Original prints are excellent choices for the budget. They will almost certainly cost you less than paintings as the artist can sell multiple copies of a print at a lower price but earn the same amount as selling one painting. They are also a great way for an artist to allow many people to enjoy one image.

10. Enjoy the process! Your collection will evolve as you learn more about what you like. Artists communicate through their art. How you interpret what they communicate will inform you about yourself. Enjoy the process!

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Ellen Scobie is a visual artist melding the traditional art forms of photography, painting and printmaking. View her art at www.verosimile.com