Buying art online has become very popular in the last 10 years. Buying contemporary art straight from the artist’s website means you no longer have to pay ridiculous prices for a piece of art, due to the elimination of the middle-man, in this case, the art gallery.

 Always buy from a seller which accepts returns and is based in the same country you are! In some cases when you receive the artwork purchased, it will look different in reality than it looked on the screen. You can also buy beautiful art pictures online (also known as “schöne kunstbilder”in German language)

But what good is this option to you if you are in the UK and you need to post the artwork back to…say Thailand? The postage for an artwork can be very expensive and most sellers will not cover this cost for you. This is also true for any item you buy online, so if the option of returning the item is not viable then don’t buy.

Don’t buy un-stretched canvases posted to you in a roll. They may appear to be cheaper initially but by the time you manage to find a stretching service and have paid for it you will realize that it cost you almost the same as a painting sold on a stretched canvas. Also, a painted canvas loses its elasticity, so it can’t be stretched properly on a wooden frame.

Buying paintings from a websites that offers you clear pictures of the artwork and also detailed photos (close-ups) will ensure that you buy the actual painting and not just an ‘image’. Some websites will sell an image and the artist will only paint the painting after it was purchased.

I also don’t recommend buying an artwork as a present for someone else, unless you know for sure that the person likes it, or it is considered to be a good investment. Art is highly subjective, and just like in a restaurant, you wouldn’t order food for someone else, if you want them to enjoy their meal, you can’t decide for them what to hang on the wall in their home.