New coffee table art picture books are very expensive when they first come out, but can often be found a little later in the deep discount section of book stores. Art Instruction books are rarely found in a clearance section. Gorgeously illustrated, well written, and very affordable art instruction books are published by DK in its Eyewitness Art and DK Art School series. There are now some excellent CD-ROMs on various aspects of art history and even instruction in art and photography. However, CDs are often in 8 bit color and the images may be quite small on the screen.
Art runs in fashions just like everything else.
You have to keep your eye on what the new trends are, and be prepared to work in those styles. If you are on a limited budget, remember that when a new model comes out the price plummets on the previous model. I highly recommend that you get a brand name like TechWorks. RAM prices change weekly and what you see in print may not be the latest price. The vendor will be sure to tell you if the price went up, but not necessarily if it went down.