I prefer to buy original art. I go to art festivals, look on Ebay, and Etsy.

There's an art studio near my work that serves disabled adults. Every December they have an open house and I have picked up a lot of pieces over the years. They have $5 and $10 tables with smaller pieces (lots of wood-block prints on the cheap tables) plus larger pieces, some framed, ceramics, woodworking, textiles, etc.

I have some pieces from family and friends, some that I did at paint-and-sip places, some pieces from craft fairs, and a few from galleries.

I've purchased original art and limited edition prints online from Saatchi Art. I've shopped at other sites but not purchased; unfortunately I can't keep all the names straight.

I have only a few mass-market pieces anymore, pieces that I particularly liked. A lot of what is sold at Home Goods and Target and the like are giclee prints. Giclee prints are fine (and affordable), but they don't have any texture. My biggest issue with mass-market prints is that a lot of them seem very generic, because, well, mass market, and they want to be broadly appealing. So they are often blandly appealing but not really very interesting. If you find one that wows you, by all means don't let the fact that it is mass market discourage you. But I would discourage you from choosing something to fill space just because it matches your decor. That's a recipe for boring.

Most of my art is from my aunt, an artist, and my husband's great uncle who took up art late in life. We also have art from artist shows or guilds. When we moved from Texas, where we had lived the longest, I bought a beautiful Texas wildflower lithograph from an Austin-based artist via Etsy. Right now I'm looking at some desert artwork from an Arizona based artist because Phoenix is my hometown. My husband is collected WW2 82nd and 101st Airborne art which we bought from the original artist. The rest of our aren't are in the forms of ceramic plates platters and art when we lived/traveled throughout Europe.

Art is personal. While you can go to the store and buy it I think you will find art from real artists, from their studio, guild or market will fill your soul and your home.

Visit your local artist guild, look for art maker locations. You can narrow down artists on Etsy by location either your state or city.

Minted.com has a lot of artwork by real people, not massed produced. You can read their bios to learn about them and what inspires them. At least that gives you a little bit more personal connection. I wish you could narrow down by location because I like to support local artists if possible.

I buy from art shows, galleries, student displays, plus I've picked up a lot of pieces in my travels. I also occasionally buy an old lithograph from a specialist print and map store. Aside from the lithographs, all the art is original or a numbered print. The last time I went to the local art show (pre Covid) I took down the names of artists whose work I liked and check out their websites occasionally. I would not buy a piece of art I had not seen in person, though.

I also have things on my walls that are not, technically speaking, "art." For example, a big copper tray acquired in Istanbul, several wood carvings from India and one from BC, a couple of decorative plates, and a donkey bag from Afghanistan.

I buy mainly abstract art work or floral pictures from furniture stores or create my own, for one sitting area i collected heritage pictures and framed them , for pantry area kept an old bakery brown paper bag with a really nice iconic design, i framed it and its perfect for the pantry area and I also framed a beautiful scenic, cotton kitchen towel.