one of the weird things about me (of many) is that in my adult life, i have only lived in THREE APARTMENTS. including the one i live in now. i haaaaaate moving, and like the security of staying in one place for a long time.
in my first apartment (where i lived for like 7 years) i didnt hang up any art for at least the first four years. i was never sure id be able or want to renew my lease each year, so i figured “whats the point?”, plus i was in college and frames were expensive, and i didnt want to put holes in the wall. i had a million reasons. eventually, i wanted my place to feel more homey so i started hanging shit up.
by my second apartment, i was already more accustomed to hanging shit up, so i kept doing it. then a boyfriend moved in, and we hung up a bunch of his shit (a lot of movie posters), and when we broke up and he moved out, i was so stoked to be able to make all the home decor choices myself, i started buying more and more artwork to replace hand on the nails he left behind. then i discovered command strips and it was OVER.
i’ve now amassed quit a collection of original art and prints. ive gotten art from EVERYWHERE. thrift stores, art school trades, art ive made myself, art my friends or sister have made, ebay, etsy, galleries, instagram, makers markets, craft fairs, some of its been gifts (if you love me, buy me art)
at any given time, i have at least one piece that needs framing or hanging.
i love art! i dont really think about ANYONE ELSE when i buy art for my place. as long as I LIKE IT or it makes me laugh or happy or feel seen or WHATEVER. i dont worry if it will look good with the art i already have, or even if i have a place to put it. i figure all that shit out later. and if i dont have a place to put it, i frame it and have it sit up against a wall until i think of a place.
sometimes i hang stuff up on the wall or put something in a frame that isn’t even “ART” just for shits and giggles and because IT MAKES ME HAPPY.
whenever i die, whoever hits up my estate sale, IMO, is gonna hit a goddamn goldmine
collecting art sometimes seems like something only RICH people do, but im here to tell you that is NOT TRUE!!
TIPS ON BUYING ART
buy prints! if you cant afford original works of art, PRINTS are a great way to start collecting. MOST OF MY COLLECTION IS PRINTS!
go to makers markets/craft fairs
if you live in a city near the other art fair , GO! there is so much original work, and so much of it is affordable! some of the pieces i got were $20!!
search “vintage oil paintings” or WHATEVER on etsy or ebay. def, dont forget about ebay for art!
hit up thrift stores, you can find some gems.
go to https://www.saatchiart.com/ and click on “Under $500”
Milwaukee’s Var Gallery has SMALL WORKS! which are $260 at most!
dont be afraid to DM artists you like on IG, ask them if they have anything in your budget. or if you see a piece you like on a website (like etsy, etc) ask if you can buy from them directly, so that etsy or whatever doesn’t take a cut.
NOW FOR THE ART!!!
ok some of these pictures ARE NOT GREAT. turns out? taking pictures of a bunch of shit in reflective glass is HARD! and i am not a professional PHOTOGRAPHER. but if you wanted PROFESSIONALISM you probably would not be HERE. reading this typo ridden substack i slap together on a semi regular basis.
this gummy bear was a gift from my sister. i think she found it at a craft fair, made by Pop Daisy Studio
when you get a pug, ppl start getting you PUG STUFF. this was another gift from my sister. the artist is earl sherwan, who im sure she didnt buy this from because he died in 2002.
i got this mary and jesus plaster combo at a thrift store somewhere when i was in college or my early 20s.
these three pet portraits of current and past pets (RIP Rads and Oli) were made by my sister! she makes custom pet portraits, and you can order some here
i also asked my sister to make me this when i started writing as a helpful reminder. she sent me like, three options, and ironically, the one i picked was her first draft.
this is another print my sister made. i think its still available on her etsy, but shes in japan and so her shop is on hiatus and i cant see if it still it.
i got this beyonce poster at the first beyonce show i went to, the mrs. carter show. my sister, her friend andy and i have been to ever tour since the mrs carter show, and this poster reminds me of all the good times we’ve had seeing our favorite (and fellow houston born) queen.
another gift from my sister, from the peach fuzz
these three prints were a gift from ELLE NASH, and IDK THE ARTIST IM SORRY.
this is technically an “AWARD” i “won” from the haunted house i worked at for six years (which you can read about here) it was part of a drop box that i hid behind, and would flip a little switch and it would drop down into the wall and i’d pop out from behind it and scare people. it broke one night (AND IT WASNT MY FAULT AT ALL) so i was given the award for breaking shit that year.
these posters were from a stationary store in texas, but you can find them all over. including amazon, here is the owls, and the bugs.
when i was in college, my mom used to send me these vintage postcards, so i put them all together in a frame and now its ART. (they are all gently placed and not taped in there because i didn’t want to fuck up the little notes she wrote on the back, so sometimes they moved and shift, which is why they are kinda wonky.)
another gift from my sister (SHE GETS ME), of the elite squad of detectives who raised us. you can by your own from the artist, KPolly
i MADE this felted female reproductive system (which we always called a felt uterus, which isnt accurate) in high school.
my friend diane makes these fantastic maps of cities. i got this set of LA because i love her and them. ive never even been to LA! (i think we may have stopped there briefly when i was a kid, but i barely remember it so it doesn’t count) she has many other cities! and you can find them at her etsy shop here
yet ANOTHER gift from my sister. she found this laughing jesus in a thrift store when we were in college.
this vintage fox i found on etsy, but the seller is no longer on etsy.
i got this grumpy little vintage kitten oil painting from etsy, but they no longer sell on etsy.
PRO TIP: search “vintage oil paintings” on etsy, or ebay and you can find some good shit for affordable prices.
this palette is from FASHION BRAND COMPANY. it was on sale for like, $1.99 so i bought it and HUNG IT ON THE WALL.
this zebra is from bed bath and beyond, from the BEYOND section.
this was a souvenir from a gift shop in ireland.
this ghost print was part of a classmates senior thesis in art school.
i got this poster from my friend jackie when her and her husband moved to boston and were getting rid of stuff.
speaking of jackie, her husband, ty, made this print and gave me a copy. even though i currently dont have a tub, so NO ONE can join me in it.
a not great painting of a butt i made in 2020 during the height of covid.
during lockdown, i also had a REAL POM POM making phase and made this guy.
poster called “lit lust” by NoTalkingPlz on society6.
i bought this from my friend, emily brown, who is incredibly talented.
“dinner in march” by the iconic anna marie tendler , when she was selling “poster” versions on her site.
3 ICONIC POP CULTURE MOMENTS from one of my favorite artists, laura collins (if you’re ever like, i wanna buy amanda art but idk what to get, a print from her is a great start)
a gift from peggy, who knows i love a poop joke. by the artist Amber Fossey. find them at zeppelin moon
got this lil guy by jori johnson, who i found at the other art fair chicago, which is a GREAT place to view AND buy affordable art
print of a girl deep throating a pizza, by Naughty Norman
I LOVE THIS PRINT, called CAKEFUCKER, which is no longer available but by the artist SPUNKROCK
ONE OF THE CROWN JEWELS of my collection. “moby’s dick” by MJ Grimaldi that i found on ebay. i love it so much.
i started my “erotic art collection” with these embroideries, they are from a bunch of different artists, many who no longer sell on etsy, so i can’t find them. but if you want to start your own collection (or add to mine, JKJK… unless?), you can find them by searching “erotic embroideries” on etsy.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F954c3011-c4fa-4db9-8627-b308b1d2f4bc.heic)
i got this vulva, and nekkid lady (below) from an artist, Jillian Elliott, also at the other art fair chicago you can buy and check out more of her work on her site.
another piece from the other art fair, by Colleen Walsh .
Photograph by Bob Price
i found Sadie Padial on tiktok because she had this amazing cake lamp i ended up also buying, and couldnt figure out if i needed to/HOW TO open it to put a bulb in it, so i DMed her on IG for help, and saw she makes these amazing colleges.
I LOVE DOLLY! And got this print by Tonya Cameron at a maker’s market.
obvi i needed a second dolly print, and so when i spotted this one from Cluster Funk Studio i had to have it.
this amazing print is from McBittersons
print by mike andrelczyk
from a print exchange we did my senior year in art school.
from the artist and writer homeless
this fab print of AMBER FROM CLUELESS was a gift from my dad and stepmom at xmas. by JOSHUA DAVID MCKENNEY this print and more available here
this print (and the next 2) i got from a gallery in new harmony, indiana but i can’t find the artist of this one!
from the same gallery in indiana, a woodblock print. it looks like it’s by cecile bron or broz by the signature, but when it pulled up the artist cecile broz, this piece didnt look like their other art, so i havent been able to for sure ID the artist
last one from the gallery in indiana. by brett anderson
tums and pigeon print are both by Leah Gardner
“whimsical breakfast” by kloie louise
original painting by chicago artist, dont fret
screenprint, “in transit” by Zinta Jauntirans-Vogel
i got this puppet from a gallery in lake geneva, wi. and i love it so much! by the artist rachel fosler
pretty sure this print is by the writer Cavin Bryce Gonzalez
this is a print by the writer and artist Rob Kaniuk
rob also painted this portrait of my sweet angel baby souldog, oliver. and i love it so so much.
ive been buying art from the insanely talented artist and writer sam pink for several years now, and its been so cool to watch his work and style evolve. i also have TWO MORE pieces from him headed my way in the near future (seen below). you can buy his ORIGINAL WORK directly from him via his instagram
AND THATS IT.
THE END. for now. until i buy or am lucky enough to be gifted more art.
THANKS FOR READING LOVE YOU BYE
I love the laughing jesus!