Home is where the art is

Paul Edlund's art fixation once was sated with lunchtime strolls through downtown galleries, where he was drawn in by layered woodblock prints and impressionist oil paintings too expensive for his walls.

Purchases were reserved for special occasions.

That was before he stumbled upon the nearly anything-goes world of eBay. More specifically, he found the "self-representing artists" category on the Web site.

Suddenly, he was buying a 1942 woodblock print of Times Square for $7 and an impressionist oil painting of light and shadow playing across a tree for $75.

It didn't take long before he was spending evenings scrolling through dozens of eBay pages, absorbing lessons about art, honing his own taste and winning auctions.

"[eBay] was just like this revelation to him," wife Lauren said. "Art was coming in every day."

About half of the works of art hanging on the beige-colored walls of the Edlunds' Wallingford home are from eBay.

Tips for buying art on eBay

• Before making a bid online, watch auctions to get a feel for price ranges for different artists.

• Set a price cap and stick to it. Your limit should be what you're willing to throw away in case the piece doesn't turn out exactly as you expect.

• Research the piece and the people selling the item. The eBay site includes a ratings system for sellers' histories.

Source: Paul Edlund

About eBay


eBay is a clearinghouse for people trying to buy and sell new and used items. The Web site does not censor items listed unless they fall under prohibited categories listed on the Web site. For more information, see ebay.com.

How to use eBay: Use categories to narrow your search on the Web site. To buy, you bid on items through the auction process or purchase items at a pre-determined "buy it now" price. Auctions have a time limit, and you can self-monitor the auction or have eBay automatically increase your bids to a maximum limit you set.

Safeguards: eBay recommends looking at a seller's history before buying. The Web site includes a ratings system for sellers' histories, which show up along with the information about the item for sale.

Returns: Purchases are an agreement between buyer and seller, but eBay has a policy to help buyers who haven't received what they bought or for items "significantly not as described." The policy does not apply if you regret buying the piece or simply don't like it.

Source: eBay

Paul Edlund, an account manager, recently made his priciest eBay purchase, an oil painting of a flaming red flower reminiscent of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's style. The painting, which hangs over a sideboard in the dining room, cost around $200.

"eBay really was the enabler," he said. "If we had to go with galleries, we'd still have bare walls."

A venue for independent artists

The self-representing artists category on eBay was small a few years ago. Today, the sub-category sells about 500 pieces daily, said eBay's Jennifer Ibarra, former manager for the art and antiques category.

The category grew out of a desire by artists to gain exposure and by buyers who wanted to support independent artists, she said.

"It gives people the ability to discover those artists who are up and coming," Ibarra said. "Some day you can say, 'I knew that artist when he was selling on eBay and got one of their early pieces.' "

Edlund has been priced out of at least one artist he admires, William McLane. He snapped up two oil paintings before McLane soared past Edlund's $200 price limit.

The good and the bad

Edlund also has made some mistakes along the way — part of the risk of buying art based on online photographs alone. One painting he thought looked like it was done in a "rustic" style turned out to be an amateurish cityscape of New York. The $25 painting hangs in the bedroom, unframed.

"At that price, you can afford to make a mistake," he said.

But buying direct has benefits, too, such as the chance to interact with artists themselves. Edlund has exchanged e-mails with artists about the pieces he's purchased and has tracked several artists as they've moved around the country.

Learning his own style

On a personal level, eBay has helped Edlund hone his taste. While he always knew his general interests, looking at hundreds of pieces has helped him focus on what styles appeal to him the most.

Now, he speaks fluently and passionately about his favorite styles, which include impressionist, plein air (art generally created on site outdoors instead of in a studio) and woodblock prints (images carved into wood and then printed in ink) from the Works Progress Administration era (1930s-'40s). He favors saturated colors and landscapes.

But Edlund can't necessarily articulate what draws him to a particular piece he spots on eBay.

"It's just what grabs me a certain day."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com