A framed print from a big-box store and an original painting can hang on the same wall and cost about the same. One was made ten thousand times in a factory. The other was made once, by hand, by a person you could email. This page is our honest case for buying original art by a Canadian artist, and where it is worth the money versus where it is not.
Everything we sell at VanArtHub is an original, painted by hand by an independent artist based in Vancouver and signed on the front. No prints, no reproductions, no print-on-demand. If you would rather browse first, the full set is in our Vancouver wall art collection.
What "original Canadian art" actually means
An original Canadian painting is a one-of-a-kind artwork made by hand by an artist living and working in Canada. There is only one of it in the world. When you buy it, no other home has a copy, because there is no copy to have. A print is different by definition: it is a photograph of a painting, run off a machine as many times as the seller wants to sell it.
The honest part: our artists are contemporary painters working today, not the historical names in a national museum. What you get is a living artist's current work, their signature on the canvas, and their name on the Certificate of Authenticity that ships with every piece. You are buying the real thing at a price a normal person can pay, not a famous name at auction.
You are paying a real person, not a factory
This is the part most people skip past, and it is the whole point. When you buy an original from our Vancouver studio, the money goes to the artist who made it. It pays for their studio time, their paint, their next canvas. Buy an imported print instead and the money goes to a printing plant and a shipping container. Both fill a wall. Only one keeps a Canadian painter working.
We are a small gallery, so we know the artists by name and we pack their work ourselves. That is the trade you are making when you buy direct from a Vancouver gallery rather than a marketplace of mass decor: fewer choices, higher prices, and a real human on the other end who made the object you are hanging up.
Original Canadian art vs an imported print
Here is the comparison laid out plainly. We are not going to pretend the print has no place, because for some walls it does. But the differences are real and they are not small.
| Dimension |
Original Canadian painting |
Imported mass print |
| How many exist |
One, ever |
Thousands, identical |
| Surface and texture |
Real brushwork, ridges, impasto you can see and feel |
Flat ink on paper or thin canvas |
| Who gets paid |
A working Vancouver artist, direct |
A factory and a distributor overseas |
| Signature and paperwork |
Signed on the front, Certificate of Authenticity |
No signature, no certificate |
| Resale and trade value |
Can hold or grow with the artist, never guaranteed |
Effectively none once opened |
| Typical price at VanArtHub |
About $72 to several thousand |
$30 to $200 in a store |
The irony of the "just buy a print" argument is that it usually rests on comparing digital photos, and a photo erases every dimension where an original wins. Texture, depth, and the way light catches raised paint do not survive a screen. You only see them in the room.
When a print is the right call (we mean it)
If the budget is genuinely tight and the wall is a low-traffic hallway or a rental you will leave in a year, a good print might be the smarter buy. We would rather tell you that than sell you an original you cannot comfortably afford. An original earns its price in a room you spend real time in: the living room, the bedroom, the space you look at every day and want to feel like yours.
To take the risk out of that decision, every original from VanArtHub comes with a 14-day trial. Live with it on your wall, and if it is wrong, send it back within 14 days for a full refund with return shipping paid by us. That is not a line we say lightly, it is the actual policy on our buy with confidence page.
The cultural side, without the sermon
There is a quieter reason to buy Canadian, and we will keep it short because nobody wants a lecture over their sofa. A painting of the west coast made by someone who lives here carries the actual place: the grey-green light, the fog off the water, the coastal forest. A generic imported print of a mountain is nobody's real view. Owning one original from a Canadian artist puts a real decision on your wall instead of a stock image, and it keeps a small piece of local culture funded and alive. That is worth something, even if it is hard to put a number on.
Key things to remember
- An original at VanArtHub is a one-of-a-kind painting by a Vancouver artist, signed and with a Certificate of Authenticity, never a print.
- Buying direct sends your money to a working Canadian artist, not a factory and a shipping container overseas.
- Texture, brushwork, and depth are the real difference, and they never show up in a photo, only in the room.
- A print can be the right call for a tight budget or a low-traffic wall, and we will tell you when it is.
- Originals run from about $72 to several thousand, ship free and fully insured, and come with a 14-day full-refund trial.
Frequently asked questions
Why buy an original painting instead of a print?
An original is a one-of-a-kind object nobody else owns a copy of, with real brushwork and texture a print cannot reproduce. Buying direct from VanArtHub also pays the Vancouver artist who made it. Every original ships signed, with a Certificate of Authenticity, and a 14-day trial so you can return it for a full refund if it is wrong.
Are original Canadian paintings expensive?
Not always. At VanArtHub, originals start at about $72 for small works and reach several thousand for large statement canvases. A small original can cost less than a framed mass-produced print of the same size. Size and medium drive the price far more than the artist's fame, so there is real original art at almost every budget.
How do I know it is a real original and not a print?
Every piece we sell is painted by hand and signed on the front by the artist. It ships with a Certificate of Authenticity naming the artist, title, medium, and size. We do not sell prints, posters, or reproductions of any kind, so there is nothing to mistake. If you are unsure about any listing, ask us and we will confirm the details.
What is the difference between buying from a Vancouver gallery and a big marketplace?
Buying from VanArtHub means a small Vancouver gallery that knows each artist and packs the work by hand. Your money goes to a working Canadian painter, not a factory. A marketplace of imported decor offers more volume at lower prices, but the object is mass-produced and no artist is paid for the piece you receive.
Does buying Canadian art really support the artist?
Yes, directly. We buy from and work with independent Vancouver artists, so the money from a sale funds their studio time, materials, and next work. That is the practical difference between an original and an imported print: one keeps a Canadian artist painting, the other pays a printing plant and a distributor overseas.
What if I get it home and it does not work in the room?
Send it back. Every original comes with a 14-day trial: live with it on your wall, and if it is not right, return it within 14 days for a full refund with return shipping paid by us. We also offer a Lifetime Trade-Back, so you can return any painting in good condition, any time, for store credit toward another piece.
Ready to look? Browse the full Vancouver wall art collection, or read the companion guides on original Canadian art as an investment and buying from an online gallery versus a marketplace. To start from the top, return to the Canadian art hub.
