You know that old painting that’s been hung up in your house for as long as you can remember? That painting probably meant a lot to whoever bought it. A simple painting can last a lifetime, and a simple piece of art can blow your mind away: you can stare at it for hours at a time because of all the detail that was put into it. 

Instead of buying the newest laptop or the newest phone, why don’t you skip buying that till next year and consider buying an original painting that will grow up with you and move to every house you move into? Think about being in the very last house you will ever have and still having that painting up on your wall; that new laptop or latest phone you bought 30 plus years ago is long gone, but you’re still admiring all the amazing details in that painting you bought 50 years ago. 

Need a place to start? Online marketplaces like Amparo are helping young collectors discover their first art pieces. It’s the new way to shop for art. According to Artsy’s recent report on online art markets, the growth of next-gen collectors’ purchasing power is aligned with the online art market’s rise. “Among these newer collectors, 57% discovered an artist through an online marketplace whose works they later collected, and 46% bought art on a platform such as Artsy in the past year. Additionally, 90% of next-generation collectors purchased artworks online.” The majority of this generation discovers art through social media. The power of social media is impressive, and companies like Amparo Art make it easy to access art through your own mobile device. 

Artwork may seem outside of your budget initially, but in fact, there are still affordable options. Emerging art is a bargain through the right avenues. Amparo provides a curated stable of emerging artists that are well–accredited and are rising in popularity. These artists are the ones you should take advantage of now, while they are affordable, before careers take off and their prices increase. 

So before you go off and have kids, buy that special piece of artwork that you can tell the story of to your kids as they grow up. Your kids then will always know how important that piece of art is, and it can appreciate in value as the artist develops their career. Buying your first art piece can come with sticker shock, but in 50 years, you’ll be glad to have made the purchase.