Find inspiration from social media

Don’t neglect social media. These days with algorithms which personalise your feed so you see more of what you like, can be used to your advantage. As you continue to like, share, save and follow different artists, you’ll find your social media pages showing you more of the art you want to see. Make a note of what you find yourself liking or sharing and you will be able to tell what artworks really speak to you.

Also, Pinterest can be an art lover’s best friend. Pinterest is known for saving visual inspiration on pin boards. By creating different boards under different categories, you will be able to save what artwork you like and continue to find inspiration. These categories can also be helpful when it comes to online auctions, as often online auctions split art into different categories based on their styles or mediums. This means you can see which categories you are saving pins to the most, which can help you when you start bidding, as you know what you’re looking for.

Window shopping

Window shopping can be the best place to start when it comes to buying art. You can browse a gallery or take a sneak peek at an online auction. By doing this you will be able to find what is most popular in the current market by assessing what is selling for more or less.

Make sure you have your notebook handy and as you peruse make a list of the following;

• What artists you liked
• What genre or categories their piece of work feature in
• The techniques they used
• What you liked and what you didn’t about the piece
• The cost

By creating a list, you will slowly begin to find what artists and genres you like. Which means you can look out for future auctions or galleries where that artist will be selling their work.

Take a personality test

Believe it or not, there are tests which let you find out what art genre suits your personality. These tests can not only be fun but can give you an idea of what speaks to you. They often will give you pieces of art to look at and then put together a list of answers to help find which styles you prefer.

Ideally try to find a test from a website which specialises in art, this will help you narrow down your preferences and is a great starting point for beginners.

Hang examples on your walls

A great DIY project is buying cheap reproductions or print examples of artwork to tape on your walls. Not only will this give you an idea of what fits best in your interior space including colour combinations and how you want them to be assembled. But will let you see what style you prefer. If the artwork doesn’t fit the space or your style, then this means you won’t have wasted hundreds or even thousands of pounds. You’ll only need a printer, some examples of your favourite artwork (potentially from the pin board you saved earlier) and some wall friendly tape.

Also, remember that finding artwork that suits you is meant to be fun. You will make mistakes along the way and have pieces in your collection you aren’t entirely in love with anymore. However, this shouldn’t stop you investing. Your taste will forever be changing and eventually you will find your art style. If you’re looking to expand your collection or finding your art style visit our online auction at  https://heartresearch.org.uk/anonymous-heart/ .

Artworks from the anonymous heART project 2021