Buying Art - Is $200 a good price for this painting?

I'm completely clueless when it comes to buying art, but I bought a painting after going to the Greek Festival in Monterey (by Old Fisherman's Wharf). The painting is fairly large and it's apparently located on the small Greek island of Santorini. I was fairly satisfied with my purchase until I saw other similar paintings at the LA County Fair going for $150 with a frame. I noted that the paintings showcased are all reproductions of famous works or follow similar themes.

In any case, anyone have any advice on how to buy art?

$200 is a fairly low price for an original piece of artwork (depending on its size and quality) for a high quality print framed $200 is high, but not unheard of.  The value of art is extremely relative and if you enjoy looking at it then it's money well spent.

On how to buy art, look for local galleries they often have openings which usually include wine and food.  Don't just buy paintings for the sake of buying them, look for pieces with personal meaning.  If you can talk to the artist of the piece you like.  Just treat the whole experience as going to a small museum except if you really like a piece you get to keep it and the creator is usually right there.

If you are buying something you know is a reproduction, then feel free to shop around.

Other than that - you can't really put a price on art. It depends what you can afford and what moves you. If you really feel strongly about a piece, then it's just a matter or whether or not you have the funds for it.

200 is a bit high for a reproduction. However, if you really enjoy the piece, I'd say hunt around a bit since it's a reproduction anyway.

Also, that first painting is really interesting. For some reason it reminds me of the island from that old 1960's British television series "The Prisoner" with Patrick McGoohan.

I feel that art is completely subjective so there isn't a set way to know how to buy art and if the art is really worth what it's selling for. A piece of art is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. If no one wants to purchase the painting then it's technically just paint on a canvas. I find that a lot of paintings people spend huge amounts of on are a waste, but to the person who purchased the painting it's a great investment. An issue separate but related to the monetary value of art is the personal value of art. Some people buy art for no reason other than the monetary value of it. Other people buy art for the art its self. There are quite a few pieces I really like simply for the fact that I like the coloring, composition, message, or personal connection to the work. You can't put a price on how a painting personally enriches your life, so in that regard what you are willing to pay for a painting is entirely up to you and the value you place on the painting.

However as you mentioned, you purchased a reproduction of a painting. While it looks fairly like the original you know that it's not. As such you then have to weigh out the personal value of the painting to yourself and any knowledge you have of what it cost to have it printed. Common costs for large scale reproductions that are printed on canvas can range from $13 to $25 a square foot. The cheaper prices generally don't include mounting and stretching on a frame, so that's an additional cost as well. The business selling the reproduction will most likely have to pay a royalty for each duplication of the original and some businesses also offer applying a coating that makes the print look like it was painted and/or have paint cracks.

So a $200 print of a painting you like isn't a bad price. Here in Springfield we have an Art Fair once each year and small 3 x 4 foot prints on canvas can easily run over $500 each. At a cost of $25 per square foot to print they come to $300 to manufacture and the extra $200 is then just profit to the vendor.

So if you really like the print you have then I would say that your $200 was well spent. =^ )

I'm not exactly a connoisseur and as thus I can't offer much input, but I have seen that bottom middle picture in a freakily broad amount of places. Any idea as to the name?

The island in the picture is called Santorini and it's located in Greece. All the buildings with blue roofs are churches, and on the left (what appears to be another island) it's actually an active  volcano. The church in the middle has a sign on it  that is really funny and it says "do not step on this church" (due to the roof being on foot level). It's really a beautiful place to visit ....sigh, brings back memories.

Quote:

Jack Vettriano's 'singing butler'


Anyway, thanks for your input guys. Very much appreciated.

that picture to the left of Mary and Jesus with the stormy rainy weather what is that?  I would love something like that in my study,

I just got a print myself which is done by George McWilliams a really popular Artist who specializes in the chesapeake bay/skipjacks/nature
this is actually my grandfathers old docks. 

I have no idea what it's called, but here's a hi-res capture of the image (resized here)