10 Artists Worth Investing In Now

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My first place in Chicago was huge, which was surprising for the city, but we got lucky! We had a full living room, dining room, kitchen, office space along with our bedrooms and bathrooms.

All those rooms came with a lot of blank walls, and in my attempt to make our place look like a home, I filled the walls with cheap prints and photographs that weren’t all that meaningful. I’m starting to outgrow the gallery wall and instead I’ve found myself preferring a single piece of large artwork over a whole bunch of small ones. It’s cleaner, draws more attention to the single piece and makes our tiny space look a lot less busy than a wall full of frames!

Now that Rob and I have been living together for two years, I’m slowly weeding out those prints that I never really loved and replacing them with artwork, both originals and prints that I really love—pieces I know that I will have for years to come.

But where to start?

I’ve come across several artists I love from Pinterest-stalking, browsing interior design shops and of course, Etsy whose art I truly love. I’ve even been lucky enough to snag a few pieces! If you’re looking to add some new artwork to your home, here are 8 artists I think are worth investing in:

1. Gray Malin

The king of overhead landscape shots! Gray Malin’s photos are bright, cheery and playful. Having a big one of these one the wall is like a having a mini vacation spot in your living room. I personally love his overhead beach collection and hope to add a large one to our home someday!

2. Katherine Freeman

I learned about Katherine because she reached out to me! She sent me these gorgeous pieces and I’m absolutely loving how they look in our master bath. We used to have a dark painting in there and it just didn’t look very good. These look like they were meant to be! They’re bright, colorful and chic. Check out her works on canvas here and on paper here. She also does commissioned paintings as well if you’re looking for something custom!

3. Michelle Armas

Michelle has long been one of my favorite artists. I love her abstract pieces, cool use of color and funky shapes are amazing and I just love the way looking at her paintings makes me feel. It’s like some sort of inner peace comes over me and I’m transported to a place where color and shapes are the only means of communicating.

I’ve been following her work for years and it’s been fun to see her grow and to see her style evolve. Lately, I’ve been swooning over her waterscape (aka, pool) paintings. I want to badly to get one! I’ll be in Atlanta for a few days in October, so maybe I’ll swing by the gallery that houses a lot of her work and see them in person! In the meantime, her prints are totally affordable!

4. Cassandra Eldridge

I met Cassandra last summer before she moved to Florida. She’s a talented photographer and I’m so excited about her latest project—The Calm Collective! It’s her new online shop full of peaceful and calm photographs that will look gorgeous in your home! I just ordered this one in an extra large size and can’t wait to get it framed and hung on the wall! If you want a bigger print than what’s listed, you can just contact her via Etsy and she can probably make it happen! Also, her horse prints are also totally adorable!

5. Hayley Mitchell

I love her series of faces! Her bold use of color and abstract/geometric style of painting would brighten any room. You can snag a high-quality print in her Etsy shop that won’t break the bank!

6. Regan Baroni

Regan is actually a friend of mine! She lives in Chicago and is one insanely talented food photographer, in fact she was nominated as a finalist in Saveur’s blog awards (vote here if you’d like!). She also sells some of her prints which make for really unique artwork in the kitchen or dining room! I have this print hung in our kitchen and I absolutely love it!

7. Joyce Howell

I fell in love with Joyce’s artwork when I saw it hanging in one of my favorite interior design shops in Dallas, Blue Print. Since then I’ve continued to fawn over her paintings. I love the floral elements of her painting style and she always uses such pretty colors!

8. Sally King Benedict

I remember picking up this issue of Domino magazine and falling in love with this adorable artist! Her artwork is bright, light, airy and whimsical. She once did a series on faces too, but I really love her abstract pieces like the one above best!

9. George Byrne

I discovered his photographs via Amber Interiors who has used his work in clients’ homes in the past. I love his ability to take the seemingly uninteresting and make it truly spectacular. In many of his photos, shadows look more like shapes and it makes reality seem quite abstract. I would love to have one of his photos some day!

10. Clare Elsaesser

I came across Clare’s work on Etsy and was instantly drawn to it! It has a vintage quality to it that makes me want to stick it in an old brass frame and hang it in a special place. I especially love the paintings of girls, something about them reminds me of simpler times and how lucky I am to have sisters!

There are so many amazing and talented artists out there and of course, this is just a short list!

Which artists’ work are you attracted to? Do you have any meaningful or special pieces of art? Have you or would you splurge on an original piece?

BTW, 15 bathrooms you’ll want to call your own, and how to incorporate green velvet.