An original painting is not a purchase. It is a decision about what you want to live with. That distinction matters more than price, more than provenance, more than anything a gallery will tell you.
The first thing serious collectors learn is to stop looking at paintings and start looking at how a painting makes them feel when they stop looking at it. The works that stay with you — that you find yourself thinking about on the drive home — are the ones worth acquiring.
Scale is the most underestimated factor. A painting that commands a wall changes the energy of a room. A painting that disappears into it is a decoration. Know your wall before you know your budget.
Texture tells you something a photograph never can. Mixed media, impasto, layered acrylic — these are works that reward proximity. They look different at 10 feet than they do at 10 inches. If you cannot see the work in person, ask the artist for detail shots.
Finally: buy the work that makes you slightly uncomfortable. The best original paintings do not match your sofa. They challenge the room. That tension is exactly what makes them worth owning.