I love thrifting and the thrill of the hunt for that perfect piece for my home. I think most people have this grand fantasy about how they are going to walk into a thrift store and discover the one overlooked masterpiece everyone else missed.
But the reality is that everyone has access to the same research tools that we do. They all have google, eBay, and other auction websites to determine how things should be priced. Sometimes you spend the whole day going to different thrift stores thinking you are going to find the one but end up empty-handed. That’s what happened to me today, but I had fun looking, meeting the thrift store owners, and determining which ones could have the best luck in the future. And that is completely normal.
Tips for Your Next Thrift Store Art Hunt
- Bring a tape measure.
- Check the back of the frame.
- Look for signatures before prices.
- Don’t overlook empty frames. They are great for future projects.
- Buy what you love, not what the internet says is valuable.
Six Stores Later…
My Saturday started with coffee, a full tank of gas, and six thrift stores marked on my map. The first is one of my favorites, The Dusty Attic, more of a consignment shop than a traditional thrift store. It’s warm, friendly, and familiar. Always a good day to just browse the three levels of booths.
Inside a local thrift and consignment store filled with furniture and home décor.
Further downtown is The Arc, which is more chaotic and disorganized. Not my favorite. The art is not displayed, but rather packed so tightly into a couple of shelves that you can’t even get anything out to look at it. I quickly moved on from that one.
Art squeezed so tight you can’t look at it
The next thrift store was out of the way and closed, which was disappointing, but across the road was a new one I had never been to, with a good selection. Still nothing I would consider though.
Then, the next town over and I popped into a brand-new thrift store. There was no art whatsoever there, but a great vinyl collection that I will be re-visiting soon.
Finally, an established store that I had been to many years ago and it’s wonderful. It’s filled to the brim with all kinds of neat and dusty things. They have a spectacular art section, and everything is easily accessible to get a close up.
Pieces That Caught My Eye
Garden Diptych Print
The Garden Diptych print was probably my favorite find of the day. I spotted it right away because I have a fascination with Greek mythology and loved the Greek garden statues featured in the print. I loved that it seemed to be either a pencil drawing or a charcoal piece. Those are textures that I am drawn to right now. I imagined someone drew what they were seeing while visiting a garden in Greece, and I could have a piece of that inspiration in my home.
My favorite find of the day, even though I ultimately left it behind.
It appeared to be signed, titled, dated, and looked like it was professionally framed. Those details don’t automatically make a piece valuable, but they tell me that someone actually cared enough about it to put their name on it and document it, and it shows me another layer of love and passion. When you find a signed print, it’s definitely worth doing some research before walking away.
Titles, signatures, and edition information are always worth investigating before you walk away.
However, it had a copyright symbol next to the signature, which makes me think that it was not signed by the artist, and was mass produced. I ultimately passed on it, but at $49, I may take another look at it in the future.
Coral Watercolor
I did like the coral watercolor. It had bright colors and the framing was done nicely. I think this would be nice for a home with a beachy theme, but I live in the middle of desert and it’s not really my style. I also think this felt more like decorative art to me because it didn’t have visible brush strokes and was also unsigned.
A bright and beachy piece that wasn’t quite the right fit for my home.
Vintage Globe
Although I am usually on the hunt for painting, drawings, and mixed media art, I have a soft spot for globes. It reminds me of when I was a child and spinning the globe thinking about what it was like in the different places my finger would land. If I had room for a globe, I would get one. They add a little whimsy, especially if you are a traveler like me.
Sometimes my favorite finds aren’t artwork at all.
Empty Frames
I found a ton of empty frames. If you have the time to look for a vintage frame instead of heading to a big box store, they can add so much personality to your art finds. Sometimes the frames in thrift stores are worth more than the art that’s in them, so keep that in mind. Don’t forget to take a tape measure if you have specific dimensions, you need it for, but then there is always matting that help you get to the size you need.
Never overlook empty frames, they can be just as valuable as artwork.
Southwest Painting
The yucca plant southwest painting was one I considered. I do like some regional landscape art since I grew up in the desert. Regional artwork usually catches my attention because it tells a story of the place where it was created, my place. This painting looks like it was an original with a signature. It has personality with the “ghost saguaro” cactuses in the background and the orange sunset. This would have been a great opportunity to buy some local art. For me, I couldn’t see a place for it, and I want to focus on larger pieces of art.
Regional artwork always catches my attention.
Pieces I Passed On
Ultimately, I passed on everything today, although I may go back for the Garden Diptych print in the future. Mostly everything I found was generic, decorative prints, rather than original art to spoke to me in some way. Most pieces did not have signatures, and if they did, I could tell it was a print. There were a lot of mass-produced landscapes that looked like they belonged in a hotel lobby. There’s nothing wrong with that, they just didn’t have the personality I was looking for and didn’t feel like artwork I would still be excited about in five years.
There were plenty of decorative pieces, but very few that truly spoke to me.
One Thing I Noticed
The challenge of living in a small town is that there are not a lot of options to pick from with a smaller pool of circulating artwork to get into thrift stores. The odds of finding something that checks all your boxes, whatever they may be, can be lower than a larger city.
My 4-Step Evaluation Checklist
I am really only looking for original art pieces and signed prints now. My process when looking at art to purchase is:
- Do you actually like the style and vibe?
- Are you looking at an original piece or a print?
- Is it signed, numbered, titled?
- Look at the frame, including the back to see if it was professionally framed or if it has any information about the piece on the back.
My Favorite Find Wasn’t Actually Art
All in all, I think my favorite find wasn’t the actual art, it was the frames. I found such a big selection of frames that could potentially be used to frame a piece I buy in the future, or for something I create myself. Frames add so much to the piece in the feeling you want it to convey.
Vintage frames can help you tell the story you feel is in the piece. For example, you find a really cool stormy ocean scene that is an oil painting. You could find a simple black frame to make it more modern looking if that is the vibe you are going for. Or you could find a vintage gold frame to make it look like is from the captain’s cabin of a pirate ship.
One piece of advice is to not overlook vintage frames, even if they have an ugly print in them.
Why I Didn’t Buy Anything
I could have filled my cart. There were some originals, which I liked, however, there were none that I loved. I kept having to remind myself that every purchase I make, takes up space in my home, and frankly I am running out of room. I am looking for original pieces that either tells a story, supports an artist, or makes me feel something every time I walk by it.
The right piece is worth waiting for. That’s one of the most valuable lessons thrifting has taught me.
