Tales from an Artist's Journal Part 11..Pricing Our Art

I have labored over this topic for quite a few years and This is a pretty good formula….......
Fairly accurate of what I do…......
However I find it difficult to charge my family and friends….....
I am not worthy (joke)

Thanks for your perspective on selling art; it’s interesting to read an artist’s point of view. The problem is greater for photography, which is not usually even considered to be art. How long did it take? Seconds! Anyone with a camera can do it! etc. So I like to read the words of a “real” artist!”

thanks for your well-written work Janis.
this is so true.

and here in RedBubble, when one sells a card for example, RedBubble deducts from the sale the cost of production and the artist might sell a card for $6.00 let’s say and still only make about $1.25. The figures change much more dramatically if one sells a framed and matted print.

Of course if Artists are selling directly to the customer ~ there would be an entirely different formula for setting the price of a piece as compared to selling through a marketing company and/or agency and paying a commission or cost of production.

I agree with you regarding calculation of the sale price based on number of hours completing the project as well as cost of materials.

I believe that if a customer admires an artist’s works, the customer will pay the artist the price set on the art. Very few customers negotiate the price of art.

It’s different when buying art directly from an artist and buying art via a marketing agency or production company or even a gallery.

yes, always a difficult thing, i have the artists way, but have never got around to reading it in full….
as far as things go….i do figure on hours…. and time spent..but generally come up with $300 large unframed and it goes up to $500 framed…. i would love to charge more, but that’s not what sells…for me anyway…people struggle to come up with $300…i often am happy for them to layby because it means a lot to me for them to have the piece their heart desires, and i know how much i would appreciate it…i often give prints away, as a sign of affection and thanx for people showing appreciation for my work, it gives me a better feeling than a sale even…..the thrill of giving and gifting…i love it….

I don’t undervalue my work anymore, i believe it has true and real value, as it affects people and brings their mood up into a happy place, you can’t put a price on that, and the reward for me is in hearing how it brings a smile to the lips…..

the money is a means to an end – i doubt i’ll ever be wealthy/rich from art, but it has always been annoying for me when i couldn’t make the art pay for my materials….it’s taken 6 years to build myself up to this point, but now the money made from sales does actually pay for my materials…and it’s a great blessing..

when i first began i was selling smaller paintings for $60-$90, the quality wasn’t there so much and i was unsure of myself..i wanted to pin larger price tags to my work, but didn’t feel okay about it.

Since then, i had a gallery put an enormous markup on my work,and of course sold nothing, but them’s the breaks…the work has to be in the right type of gallery/shop/cafe and presented to the type of clients that will be attracted to your work, or it’s just a waste of time, energy and expense I reckon.

I think that a 10 hour painting is deserving of $300 for myself…that’s $30 an hour….fair and reasonable…..but i also look at the end amount and think, can i live with $300 and still give that painting away, does it rip a hole in my soul or do i feel good about it….if i can live with it, i let it go, if not i adjust the price slightly like tip the scales here and there….i add up all the pros and cons…and usually in the end, it all works out okay…..

But ! I struggled with pricing for nigh on 5 years, only in the last year have i settled and understood…it takes time i think to know yourself, your art, your client….and just get a sense of what’s going on, what’s fair and what’s not….a lot of research by visiting galleries and listening to other artists too ;)

very good janis..and I also think that It’s one of the hardest things to do..
pricing a painting …hhhhmmmmm.. Interesting.

some of my paintings look beautiful ..but might take only a short amount of time to complete.. and were maybe painted in 5 hours or so.. others may take many months to finish..and it’s so hard to put a price on those ones as far as ” time ” goes

..however ..I might love the paintings equally ..the one that took just a little time to paint..and the one that took a long time to paint..In fact the ones that took little time seem to be more popular ..hhee!!

Once the painting has left me to go to it’s new home.. I become pretty emotional with the fact that will never see that painting again ..so sometimes.. If I feel really strongly about a painting then I put the price up
..I do this as a type of compensation …for having to let the painting go…and I think that If I love it ..then it has my energy trapped in the canvas and the paint..so what price to put on trapped human energy..because that’s really what a painting is..it’s flooded and embued with the energy of the painter..
what price to put on something that is a part of yourself.. and a part your very soul..? HHmmm it’s hard to price that ..I agree

and sadly when they go ..I will never be able to repeat that painting ever again.. though I have tried..it never really works out the same..It’s always a different painting

..this is where the sadness comes in with parting with one that I really like..It’s almost like a little part of myself has been bought and sold ..or like a favourite pet has vanished from my life..hha!!

and though I want to make money from the art that I do.. it would be an absolute miracle to be financially independant from selling my work.. that is a goal of mine though .
I feel blessed when someone likes one of my paintings so much that they want to own one..I still find it difficult to price them…but have decided now to set a sort of standard for myself..working on the size of the painting..
30 years ago..I would sell some paintings at $100 each. and looking back ..this was such a tiny amount ..there is some regret there..

my self worth and self value has grown enormously since then. ..but then again ..so have my skills..and I shouldn’t look back ..but sometimes I do and with sadness that so many paintings left me..for such a little price.

we live and learn though..and we get better at waht we do..if we just stick it out..and are determined to grow and improve ..and we have to put our own value on our art..no one else can really do this for us.

.I know I’m not the only one to have given awaymany paintings or sold them for pennies or a song….many artists over the years have done the same thing ..but there comes a time..where you will look and see the true value of your own work ..then putting up the prices won’t be as traumatic as it used to be..It’s still hard.. but not quite as hard as it used to be..in fact it’s getting easier and easier for me. now .to price my work
what’s even better and is very helpful- is when
other artists come along and tell you to put your prices up..because they can see that you have undervalued your work….so thankyou to those people who have helped me to realize that my paintings are wonderful ..they are admired and have real monetary value..
when all is said and done..I think that most artists want to make money from what they do best..it’s just that it’s difficult at times to part with some of their paintings ..some artists never sell their work..preferring to keep all their own energies with them forever..and I can understand why they might do that too !!

thanks for your help and your insights janis.. I appreciate it.

cathyxxxooo

Pricing is hard in the early years for any artist. Through trial and error finding pricing that allows you to sell work often and what feels good is usually different. I have sold works for 1000’s but they were extreamly large and commissioned. For the most part…in ten+ years of selling I find that I can move several works per month in the 200.00 to 550.00 range. I price all my standard size paintings the same price 285.00 for an 18” x 24” a little more if the canvas is extra deep. From there I move up and my mixed media works and wall sculpters are priced a little more because of the costs of making them are more. A large wall painting is 375.00 to 550.00. These sell less often, but they move at about one or two a month. I know when my work is in galleries they charge huge amounts more…so I take the gallery price (retail) and I figure out what I would make after the commissions and fees…then I charge that price to the customer direct. I would love to charge more, anyone would…I mean I’ve been at this for 11 years now…but what I enjoy the most is making sales often…more than enough to pay for my supplies and extras…and I don’t have any ego about lay a way or sale prices or trading with others for what I want/need or any other thing…art is subjective, it’s hard for the best of us to find patrons in this economy too…but it can be done. I may never be famous, but in 10 years I’ve sold 500 works around the world…so fame ain’t nuthin compared to being able to do what I love and keep doing it forever. Great post thanks for putting it out there.

Well, I’ve never been confronted with the problem! (LOL) However, I am interested in how you all come to make that decision.

thank you janis.

Great topic, Janis. I wish there was a magic formula. My paintings usually sell between $100 and $350.00 , Sometimes I charge more but that doesn’t mean they will sell for that amount. The most I ever sold one for is $350.00. At the end of the year my expenses usually equal anything I sold! I try to supplement with notecards and prints and earrings etc!

Great response Janis – so much advice which is fabulous…so glad you posted this – thanks!

You always seem to find the right topic to introduce for disccusion. I so agree with your information and that is from a marketing point of view since that is what I studied. Extremes are not recommended, since if you price too high you may miss the market you want to target or create an elite impression you don’t necessarily what to, not to mention overprice yourself out of a sale, and if priced too low you risk giving the impression that your work is not valued by even you, (that’s why it is never a good idea to give things away even to family and friends although there are exceptions to every rule), and you have to keep the intended market in perspective as well. People will not pay the same price for something sold at a flea market or on the street as they would exhibited in a gallery!

Good article Janis. I’ve been selling my work over the last 30 years and am pretty comfortable about what I price my work for. Like most artist it does depend on who I’m selling to, as family and close friend do get one price and dealers get another. But in the instance of someone who is wanting to buy the reproduction rights (wanting to use my art in some printed materials) I’m still at a bit of a loss as to what I need to charge for this service. It’s like they’re not wanting to purchase the actual art, but just rent it for a while.