How to start an art collection on a budget

"Collector" sounds like someone with a monocle and a warehouse. It's not. A collector is just someone who buys art on purpose, more than once, because they love it. You can start this weekend with £20.

I'm Luis, and I've watched loads of people start collections at my stall in Covent Garden. They usually come back a month later for "just one more". Here's how to do it without eating beans for a year.

Step 1: Set a budget that doesn't hurt

Pick an amount you won't miss. £20 a month. £50 a quarter. A birthday treat every year. The trick is regular, not big. Twelve £20 prints in a year is a wall. One £240 piece in a year is a nice piece, but also a lot of waiting.

Step 2: Buy from living artists

Your money goes further when you buy direct. At a market stall or an artist's website, there's no gallery mark-up, and the artist gets the whole sale. Plus, you can actually talk to them, which makes the piece mean more.

London is full of places to find artists: here are the best art markets in London.

Step 3: Mix prints and originals

A great collection isn't all originals. Most real collections are a mix:

• Prints let you own designs you love for very little. Mine are £20 in A4.
• Small originals give you one-of-a-kind pieces at a sensible price. Mine start at £55.
• Antique images are my secret tip for collectors on a budget: real antique art-book portraits painted over by hand, one of a kind, £25 each.

Not sure what's what? Read art print vs original.

Step 4: Find your thread

The best collections have something linking them. It might be a colour, a theme, a city, a sense of humour. Mine would be words: I love art that says something. Yours could be portraits, or bright colours, or pieces that make you laugh. You don't have to decide on day one. Buy three things you love and look at what they have in common.

Where the bargains really are

The best-value art is rarely in shops. It's at markets, at graduate shows, in artists' online shops and in the "seconds" or smaller pieces artists sell to keep things moving. Ask artists if they have smaller works or older pieces. Most of us do, and we're happy to talk.

Step 5: Buy what you love, not what might be valuable

Please don't buy art as an investment unless that's your job. Buy art because it makes your day better. If it goes up in value one day, wonderful. If not, you've still had years of joy, which is the real return.

Step 6: Look after it

• Frame works on paper behind glazing, with acid-free mounts. My guide on how to frame art prints explains how.
• Keep it out of direct sunlight. Sun fades paper and paint.
• Avoid damp walls and steamy rooms for originals.
• Keep the paperwork. Receipts, notes from the artist, the story. That's provenance, and it's lovely to have.

Step 7: Rotate and display

You don't need to hang everything at once. Collectors swap pieces around with the seasons. A picture ledge lets you change your display without new holes. Renting? See how to hang art without damaging walls.

Collecting tips I give everyone

1. Follow artists you like on Instagram. New work often sells to followers first.
2. Join mailing lists. I run a Private View list with first looks at new pieces and 10% off your first order.
3. Go to degree shows in the summer for work by new artists.
4. Commission one piece once you know what you love. A commission is the most personal thing in any collection.
5. Talk to the artist. Ask why they made it. Write it down. Future you will be glad.

What a first-year budget collection could look like

That's under £250 across a year, and six or seven real pieces on your walls.

Art collecting questions