5 Ways to Start Collecting Art Without Feeling Intimidated

Plus a GIVEAWAY of Liz Lidgett's gorgeous new book Art for Everyone

For a long time I was totally convinced there was some invisible velvet rope around the art world. That you needed money or expertise or a perfectly designed house before you were allowed to buy art and that collecting art is only for rich people with apartments overlooking Central Park.

I loved looking at art and I certainly bought a lot of art while traveling around the world, but I never thought about it as art with a capital A or as collecting with a capital C. I felt like what I was doing was something different, something amateurish.

But then I discovered Liz Lidgett. She’s a gallery owner, curator, author of Art for Everyone, and one of my favorite follows on Instagram. She completely dismantled that idea.

Researching Parisian Heist and digging into the highest high-end art world right alongside the delightfully chaotic stalls of the Paris Flea only reinforced this for me.

Art IS for everyone. It shouldn’t be intimidating or overwhelming. I was so freakin excited when Liz agreed to come on Under the Influence to chat about art with me. It was like meeting a celebrity. The episode is so good.

Liz is such a massive inspiration in a lot of things, but truly about building a collection of art that you love, no matter how big or small it is, no matter what it costs.

I wanted to pull out the genuinely useful advice Liz shared for anyone who wants to bring more art into their life without spending a fortune or pretending they know more than they do.

1. Stop trying to buy “important” art and start buying what makes your gut go fizzy

Liz kept coming back to this idea of the “gut grab.”

Ask yourself: Do I want to keep looking at this? Does this make me feel something? Does it make me giddy like a kid getting bubble gum for the first time.

The piece you need is the one you keep circling back to. The one that makes you feel slightly obsessed for reasons you can’t explain yet.

This applies whether the piece costs $50 at a flea market or $5,000 at a gallery.

2. Spend time in museums and galleries

One of the smartest things Liz said is that most people skip the noticing phase.

We decide we want art, then immediately start shopping before we’ve figured out what we actually like.

Spend time looking. Go to museums. Wander into galleries. Scroll artist accounts online. Save images that keep pulling you back.

Start paying attention to patterns. Do you love landscapes? Portraits? Tiny still lifes? Hyper-colorful modern pieces?

The point is to develop your own taste.

3. Estate sales, thrift stores, and Facebook Marketplace are gold mines

This was the part of the conversation that made me feel personally validated as someone who now spends a shit ton of time at estate sales.

Liz is a huge believer in thrifting art because people often don’t realize what they have, and because older pieces tend to bring a kind of warmth and soul into a house that brand-new decor lacks.

Her biggest tips:

• Check the back for signatures or information

• Make sure there’s no mold or major water damage

• Pay attention to the frame because reframing can get expensive

• Look for texture and brushstrokes to see whether it’s an original piece

• Don’t worry so much about resale value

Also: Facebook Marketplace for art had somehow never occurred to me until this conversation and now I cannot stop scrolling.

4. Art does not have to live on one giant blank wall

I think a lot of people assume they don’t have room for art because they picture a formal gallery wall in a massive house.

Meanwhile Liz is out here hanging art on bookshelves, mirrors, doors, over windows, and basically any flat surface available.

The more unexpected the placement, the more rad it often looks.

Some ideas I immediately stole from this conversation:

• Small framed pieces sitting on bookshelves

• Tiny works inside a coat closet

• Bathroom art

• Leaning art on kitchen counters or shelves

• Art low enough for kids to enjoy

• Mixing framed art with books and objects instead of isolating it

The point is to live with art, not treat it like a museum exhibit nobody can touch.

5. Buy art when you travel instead of another sweatshirt

This might be my favorite practical takeaway because I already do this instinctively and now I feel very justified.

Liz talked about how art makes the best souvenir because you actually continue living with the memory every day.

A vintage print from Paris. A tiny watercolor from a local artist. A weird flea market painting you found in Italy. A handmade ceramic piece from a road trip.

Years later you’ll still remember exactly where you found it.

Tell me about your favorite piece of art in comments to win one of TWO copies of Liz’s wonderful book. US only. SORRY CANADA.