[ElSapo]

Unless you're really serious about it, and have background and experience with it, I'd advise against trying to invest in art for the sake of future appreciation.

If you want to buy art (please do), buy it because you love it. Purchase art that you enjoy owning and looking at. Meet the artist, make a connection, support them and become vested in their work.

I think it's absolutely true you can find some great work in the price range you mention. Will it appreciate over time? Who knows - art tends to be an up and down market following the whims of economies not always directly connected.

I tend to advise against anyone buying art solely for the purpose of making money.

But if you buy art that you love, pieces you want to own for a long time, then it becomes a no-lose situation. It's possible the art will appreciate in time. But whether or not someone else values it more later, it's still worth owning to you.

Check out "I Bought Andy Warhol." Good read, I think by Richard Polsky.

I have no credentials, by the way. I call myself an artist sometimes, hence my wanting you to support up-and-coming artists. I own the work of artists I know, and about seven or eight others for various reasons.

My favorite piece is an oil painting I bought on the street in Ecuador for $100. It's a beautiful piece, about 4-foot by 3-foot, and a year later I went back and had to pay triple for a piece half the size. Because it appreciated? No, mostly because I was a white dude who they knew they could sell to.

I have a Dali etching and a Miro print that I bought specifically because I love those artists. I bought through a reputable dealer, but there's a chance the signatures are fake. I'll never know, and I'm not sure I care.

I have a cartoon by Cuban editorial cartoonist Garincha that I love. It's not worth much at all, but it's a great piece.

I have the work of some artist friends you've probably never heard of. Hopefully those will appreciate, mostly because it would be good for them. I got them both in trades.

I'm really attached to my stuff. The most I've paid for a piece is about $700. The least was about $30. I only buy things I want to own for a very, very long time. I don't really have an interest in getting rid of them - these things make me happy just seeing them.

Just thoughts...