When you Purchase Original Art

I've received a few questions over the years about, how does one purchase original art.
Some questioned why my prices were this while another artist's was that. Occasionally my prices were higher and other times lower.
To answer the 'higher' question...the prices of the 'other art', priced much lower than my art, I knew were 'knock-offs' of other people's art.
You've probably seen the large 'starving artists' sales that advertise sofa sized oil paintings beginning at $29.
These are usually paintings that are done overseas, many times in an 'assembly-line' of sorts. There may or may not be an actual artist involved in the work, and the signature could be as much a forgery as the painting itself. And, they pump out a lot of the 'same' paintings over and over.

If you are just looking for a painting that 'strikes your fancy' and aren't really interested in the possibility that the artwork might be 'worth something someday', these paintings could easily suffice. I can't speak for the quality of the canvas or the level of talent, but the price is usually 'right' on these paintings.

However, if you want a 'one of a kind' original painting, with a signature on the Certificate of Authenticity that matches the one on the painting, you might want to purchase from someone who can verify their credentials as the artist.
But, if you