Post 570: Artists Pricing Their Artwork Fairly

Artists Pricing Their Artwork Fairly

There is a lot of advice on the subject of pricing your artwork, even on this blog. Yet the question is an often asked artist to artist topic of conversation, and often very misunderstood. Some artists go into it pricing way to high for their experience level, some sell out everything they have because their prices are way too low for the quality of their work. It will probably always be an ongoing issue for artists, but perhaps, the discussion here will help you know where you are on the radar.

The Artist Pricing Myths

So you have decided to create some art and want to sell it. But for how much? There are misunderstandings by some artists AND by some art lovers, and would-be collectors, that mistakenly think:

• All artwork is expensive. 
• Artwork is a luxury item. 
• Being an art collector is for the well-to-do.
• Art is expensive because artists have overpriced their work. 
• My art is so beautiful, it will sell itself.
• My art degree means I can price my art above the little people.
• I'm the true meaning of starving artist. 
• Artwork prices appreciate over time. 
• Emerging artists aren't worth investing in. 
• Artwork value goes up once the artist is dead. 

These misconceptions can all be debunked, thrown out, stomped on, and kicked to the curb.

Art Pricing Truths

• All original art is the product of a combination of skill, creativity, and of labor that definitely deserves fair compensation for that artist's efforts.
• Art in a gallery will be priced higher than in a non-gallery event or location, such as a festival, a library, or popup show. One reason for this is that the gallery is charging a much higher commission, so the location of the gallery, the city or town will also affect the price of the art that is on display. This could be as high as 30 - 60% of the price on the label.
• Other factors of major importance, is the reputation of the artist. How well-known is the artist, do they have a strong following? Does the talent and ability of that artist display strongly in their body of work? How unique is their art and presentation?
• Artwork prices go up for the artist by demand. Selling out your collection means prices can and should go up - (usually) gradually. 
• Don't wait to be discovered. Do the hard work of pounding the pavement to be seen. 

I've met artists that charge per size of canvas, no matter the complexity of the art and materials and I've met artists that go with Cost of Materials plus Hourly Rate times Hours Spent. But to get an awareness of where to even begin, start with these baby steps in your GPS (General Pricing Strategy):

Track your Costs in detail:

• Keep track of the Time put into each piece and size of work you do.  
• Include the prep work on computer, on paper, designing, sketching.
• The actual time spent painting, manipulating, creating that art into the end product. 
• Keep track of the Expenses of each artwork and materials used to create it.
• Costs of canvas, surface used: board, panel, paper.
• Costs of paints, varnish, gesso, specialty items/paints like gold leaf.
• Watercolors and Acrylics may have different pricing than Oil paintings which are the more expensive medium. 
• Cost of framing, mat boards, backing boards. 
• Hardware: Wire, D-Rings 
• Overhead Costs like marketing, packaging, utilities, studio rental, shipping, website and hosting fees and gas/expenses to get there. Shall I include insurance?
• Prices charged for Calls for Art, show entry fees.
• Commission fees are also taken out of an art sale which can vary as well so an artwork will need to be priced so that YOU get out of the sale what you want to get paid for the artwork, less the commission charged to you to show it there.
• Do the Research! Look around at art similar to your own and sized similarly. You are not comparing your work, you are getting an understanding of price points. Ask questions, get to know those artists. See how long they have been doing what they do. And - is artwork selling at that location for those asking prices?

The Beginner Artist, Are You at the Novice Level?

I would think that many artists do start off drawing and painting when they are young little Picassos and our mums show off those artworks on the family refrigerators held up with magnets. Oh, remember those days when Mom thought we were all so clever?

Then our family members and friends all LOVE what we do and want our artwork, so we may give away a lot of our early stuff. Or we happen to enter an art contest and win first place - Great! Yet...we haven't really sold any artwork and our art portfolios are pretty sparse. Or we haven't yet built up our art inventory and our inexperience, our art style is potentially in its early stages. 

We all come into the world of art at different times. Some people don't really begin their art lives until they retire and have more time to create art. Some young people grow up with full intention and dedication that they are going to BE an artist. Some folks get into schools and colleges and study art, but until they start actually selling art, they are NOVICE artists.

Someone that is just starting to hit the art shows, galleries, popup shows, art festivals is not at the level of a seasoned artist with lots of art shows, juried art shows, gallery exhibitions, solo shows, and building a client list of commissions. Your hourly rate just cannot and should not be the same as an artist with a lot of art sales behind them. And these artists are way beyond selling their art to family and friends (although we do thank God for their support!).

Your experience level as an artist should affect where you are in the pricing strategy, as well as the medium used, the size of the artwork, and the demand for your work.

You must build your art sales up before you can garner the so-called "big bucks". And that happens over time for nearly every artist since the beginning of art being sold.

Tidbit Trivia: Did you know that Vincent van Gogh, although creating over 2,000 artworks in his lifetime, only sold ONE artwork in his life?

I recently heard a story about a beginner artist that was actually quite good and does exquisite work. The artist had not ever been in an art show or been in a gallery, nor offered art online, until one day he put a price tag on his art. The artist had priced his artwork in the thousands of dollars - and wondered why they were not selling. Truthfully, there could be a lot of factors behind that statement and much disappointment for the artist,  but I don't know any artist that can start with an artwork priced that high. (And if anyone has, that is a rare exception and SO not the rule!) If you are sitting on your artwork with a big tag on it and nothing is selling...as the well-known comedian once said, "There's your sign".

And it is NOT the fault of anyone if you spent multiple hours, days, weeks, months, or longer on any piece of work. Especially when after you have become more experienced, you can develop a similar work in far less time. What I mean is that when I know I'm trying to get a technique or a look in the painting and I have to keep painting it over again and again, that time spent shouldn't have to apply to the time spent, ticking up the price per hour. 

The potential "buyer" doesn't care how long it took you to paint it. The buyer wants to understand WHY you are asking $500 for a 16x20 painting on this wall, and around the corner is another 16x20 painting of yours for $1000.

People and Pet portraits - true, these artworks must represent and be recognized as the persons and the pets being presented, but does that mean those subjects are any more work than another? Interesting point, I think, as I recently understood from another artist that I got the feeling portraits deserved special pricing.

Build Your Resume

Keep track of every ribbon won, every People's Choice, every solo show, every gallery exhibition, shows you were juried into, and any press releases. As the resume builds, these items will help to show the art world around you what you have going on. 

Getting recognized also means, like has been said consistently on this blog, get out there to art shows, art receptions, go to galleries, TALK to people! Enter as many shows as you can for the artwork that you create!

The Mid-Level Artist, Things Are Selling

This level of artist has been selling regularly and is a competent artist, mastering his or her style, beginning to sell some art to people that are NOT our relatives and getting commissions from people that we aren't related to as well. Our body of work is increasing, with a nice selection of work we could enter into various art shows. And we have art that HAS been juried into art shows around us and potentially won first, second, third places, or People's Choice awards. 

Many art shows and calls for art do not want repeated entries nor older artworks, so you'll need to be replenishing and constantly creating art inventory.

Look at it this way too - when you are accepted to have a solo show somewhere, you will also need a cohesive body of artwork, and often a lot of it, to actually put up on the walls for display! 

The mid-level artist is showing plenty of growth, is amassing a good number of inventory and steady sales. Again, if artwork is pretty much selling out...there's your sign.

The Professional, the Expert Artist

As the artist grows and develops into an established, professional, sought-after and recognized artist locally and perhaps even more far-reaching, their hourly wage would be considerably higher than a mid-level artist. These artists consistently sell art, get into art shows, juried shows, and solo shows, have a large following that want to see what they are working on to perhaps have the first option to buy.

Your experience level as an artist should affect where you are in the pricing strategy, as well as the medium used, the size of the artwork, and the demand for your work. Critical acclaim, exhibition history, artist reputation, and yes, rarity, all play a part in that price posted on the art label along with the cost of the materials used, the labor (time spent creating that canvas), and the outright years in the refinement of the skills honed by that artist.

More Thoughts on the Subject of Pricing

I'd love to hear your thoughts about pricing your art. How would you answer any of these questions?

• Do you think its a good idea to have multiple price points for your art so that it is affordable to more people?
• Do you bargain/haggle with your prices in any way?
• Do you offer a section in your solo show with lower-priced paintings?
• Do you have a better response to your art when showing "out of town"? 
• Do you feel your clients demand the quality of higher-end pricing of art?

An artist certainly does not want to undervalue or over-value their artwork. Either way can hurt their bottom line, but the artist must also develop the confidence in the value of their own artwork. The artist must become visible in person as well as their artwork being seen in art events, festivals, shows, galleries, social media - everywhere they can be - especially being seen by the right collectors for their style of work. 

For fair pricing in your GPS, doesn't it make sense to consider where you are in your art journey? The struggle in art pricing is real and ongoing. Are you confident in your pricing strategy?

For Further Reading 

See also the PWAS Artistry Spin Page on Pricing by Donna Liguria  Several previous PWAS Artistry Spin blog posts about pricing your art.

Understanding Art Pricing: Why This Costs That by Vik Chadha  A very concise look at fair pricing.

See How to Price Your Art: Art Pricing Guide for Every Type of Artist  This has a great breakdown on building your pricing schedule. Author Skylan Abraham walks from Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, to Expert. 

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 390: Why Is Art So Expensive?

Why Is Art So Expensive?

A person may be at a busy arts and crafts festival and wander past an artist sitting in their booth, surrounded by beautiful artwork. After glancing at the art hanging there, the person may think to themselves, "Art is too expensive", and move along to the next booth. Or, a couple of people walk into an art gallery and spot some interesting art, take a look at the label and gasp at the price. This article tries to walk the reader through what it actually took to create a painting.

 

Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash 

What Does the Artist Actually Make on Their Artwork?

In all actuality, often that artist sitting in their booth, hears the person say, "Why is that art so expensive?" talking about their art!

The truth is, artists rarely get a fat check for their art, especially when starting out. It can take years to make a name for themselves, if they ever do. And they typically do NOT pocket all of that price on the label. Yet their art is wonderful. And even when they receive their check from the sale of their art, there are LOTS of costs and fees that affect what their actual profit is.

Let's take a look at some artwork sizes and some prices, which may give a better understanding of why the price is what it is...

A - D is pretty straight forward in my example, and as anyone knows, any of these prices based on size can vary up or down greatly. (You wouldn't find a Picasso in these price ranges, correct?)  What is someone willing to pay for a piece of art is whatever catches their fancy and within their budget, or needs, also called subjective. I'll even venture to say that it may also be based on their perceived value in the piece as well.

The prices are scaling up as the size of the artwork goes up in the examples. This is based on the fact that more supplies go into the work, the greater the size.

E - J is more the unknown costs that the potential buyer will not know. These are samples of the artist's costs that come out so that their artwork can be shown - sort of the leasing or rent of the wall space where it is hanging.

In other words, the art show, art group, the art gallery - the all take a commission which is deducted from the artist's price for the piece. Then they send the artist, the remainder. 

And/or the art group also has a fee to join to display artwork, and they take their cut off the artist's price before sending the check. How else will the gallery or group make their funding?

Now, in K through P, we get into the other costs that the artist spent to create the artwork based on the art size A.

K is the surface, what the artist's cost is for the canvas the artist painted on. If the artwork is a print, or on watercolor on quality paper, any of these prices will fluctuate.

L can also vary greatly if the artwork has a frame. Frames can be quite expensive. Some artwork MUST have a frame and possibly glass, like watercolor and pastels. Oil and Acrylic paintings on a gallery wrapped canvas don't necessarily have to have a frame, it depends on the artist and the gallery. 

Some artists and buyers, feel like the art isn't finished unless its framed and some galleries only want framed artwork. If you have ever gone to one of the framing stores, you get the idea of how costly it can get. The artist must recoup the costs of the framing fee for the piece.

M is harder to configure, but it is the price of the medium, techniques, and finishing process for the artwork. The canvas should have a layer of gesso, layers of paint, possibly including extenders, and layers of finishing varnishes to help protect the painting. 

Quality paints, specialty brands, mediums, solvents, etc can add up quickly. And I haven't included any info here on the use and costs of the brushes or knives used. 

N is the potential entry fee the artist may have paid to show their artwork (on top of the commission fee, after the artwork is sold). At many art shows and galleries, there is an entry fee when a Call for Art goes out and the artist may enter 1-5 pieces for that fee. Occasionally there are monetary awards given, but not always.

Of greater cost would be what the artist paid if this were a booth at a fair or festival (along with all the equipment used to display there - tent, gridwalls, tables, print stands, etc).

O is another hard to calculate cost. Much like a home office someone works out of, a home art studio has the utilities including electric and water, or other cleaning materials, which are other calculations for the artist. As they say, no free lunch.

Artwork that doesn't sell, must be stored properly as well, and hopefully there is space in their home. If the artist pays for an art studio space somewhere, that has to get paid for, right?

Then there is the gas to go buy the art supplies and to go get it framed. To then to get the artwork to the show. Possibly a hotel or food costs if the art show or fair is far from home.

Websites cost the artist a monthly fee, any promotional or advertising fees, as well as the business cards or postcards that are offered up to the visitors.

P can be hard to calculate the total cost of supplies and equipment to create artwork, but you can see how it all adds up.

Q shows that the check given to the artist in J has the costs of supplies and fees deducted from P to come up with the total in Q - where we are considering as the profit.

R is showing an estimated amount of time that the artist spent creating the artwork. Some artist can spend a ton of actual time on one piece - probably based on a lot of variables, including their experience and whatever the subject matter is.

Finally, the last row is the Cost per Hour showing that if you take the estimated hours to create the item in A, and divide hours R into Q, this is the estimated hourly wage to create the purchased art.

That isn't so impressive is it?

Sure, artists create art (most often) for the love of it. Some artists are hobbyists, some make art because it is their career, and maybe more often, many artists are making art because they would LOVE to make a career of it. They need to make a living from their art sales.

Food for thought: I asked a friend one time, after I had spent about 40 hours on a painting - obviously equivalent to one of their work weeks and asked why should I expect less than what you make in a week?

Artistic Experience

Typically, the cost is based on time and the artist's experience, possibly their artistic training as well. A self-trained beginner artist often does not usually ask the same hourly rate as a beginner art-educated person. Over time and as sales add up for either artist, the pricing on their paintings will go up.

I heard this story one time (true or not, read the link provided), 

"It always reminds me of the story about the woman who approached Picasso in a restaurant, asked him to scribble something on a napkin, and said she would be happy to pay whatever he felt it was worth. Picasso complied and then said, “That will be $10,000.”

“But you did that in thirty seconds,” the astonished woman replied.

“No,” Picasso said. “It has taken me forty years to do that.” - https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/01/14/time-art/

I'm not comparing my work to Picasso of course, but I do want to make a reasonable hourly rate so that when the commissions, fees, supplies, and misc. costs are deducted, my profit is satisfactory. Wouldn't you?

Let me know what you think of "Why is Art So Expensive?"

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA and Artistry Spin Blog Admin, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, Donna's Etsy site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 257: The Cost of Art Supplies

The Cost of Art Supplies

As prices go up and up, how are you changing what you do, artistically? A question put to the PWAS membership recently and a few that responded are below.

How has the cost of art supplies affected what you do as an artist?

There could be various approaches to this question and the most obvious is to perhaps raise prices to reflect price increases in materials to create a painting. Others may change a certain brand which in a way is something to consider as the artist gets to explore new ways, methods, mediums or alternatives when they create what they do. How has the increasing prices of art supplies affected you, or has it?

 

Photo by JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN on Unsplash 

1. Donna Liguria

I really like using Kamar Varnish by Krylon for my paintings. Not long ago, by a few months as of the writing of this post, I could find the can at Walmart for a little over $5 a can. It could be found at Hobby Lobby or Michael's for a few dollars more, or I had also purchased it on Amazon in a 6-pack too quite reasonably. I saw it at Walmart a few weeks back and it had gone up to over $8 a can. As of today, October 26, 2022, on Amazon it is $25.74 (last week) for an 11oz can! (GULP!) And oddly enough, I just looked today (Nov 5, 2022) and it was $19.99... I'm just not paying that although I really like the product. 

 

I currently have other supplies that I can use for now, along with a few cans left from the 6pack of varnish I had purchased. If prices stay up, I may have to change and the finish would be a different look than I would have liked, but I'll see how it goes. As I am sure many artists will say, we are ever more looking out for supplies on sale. I'll also keep an eagle eye out for those marvelous Michael's 70% off canvas sales and I'm really hoping for a VISA Gift Card for Christmas!

2. Ann McCarty

I have curtailed as much spending as possible. Tubes of paint are not replaced until completely empty and I will shop around for the best price. Pretty much, I am working with what I have. 

Sales at shows have diminished, making it hard to justify the spending.

3. Otis Stanley

The cost of art supplies has not affected my output or what I do as a painter. I look out for art supply sales and purchase in stock.

4. Linda Nedilsky

Holy cow, yes!  Most things have gone up 25%. The dilemma is that everyone is hurting, so should an artist increase his prices, possibly decreasing sales, or increase by 25%.

For now, I am just keeping my prices the same. We will see how that pans out. 

5. Elena Cheney Jochum

The Cost of art supplies affected me early on, especially when I was in high school. I had to work since I was 15 just so I could afford supplies. It was one of the reasons I did not study Fine Art for my undergraduate degree. My family couldn't afford to help me with supplies back in 2008, especially larger canvases or oil paints. I was able to go to MICA in 2015 to receive a Post BACC in Fine Art, but I was able to afford my supplies by then. I ended up pursuing a career in graphic design and that helped pay for the tools I needed to use more traditional media. Basically I ended up pursuing a completely different major in psychology and then a career in graphic design instead of fine art, just because the cost of supplies and art education was too high for me.

 

 

Rising costs on your art supplies, how are YOU handling those costs?

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA and Artistry Spin Blog Admin, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, Donna's Etsy site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 189: The Fear of Putting a Price on Your Art

The Fear of Putting a Price on Your Art

This art topic can be quite the stumbling block for artists.

Finding Art Formulas for Pricing Your Art

I have written on the topic before and the link to that post is https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2022/02/post-115-pricing-your-artwork.html. Some artists do not even get off the ground to sell their artwork because they just don't know where to start.

I recently came across this article at Artwork Archive that is well worth sharing. The writer shows 3 formulas to configure your price:

https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/how-to-price-consistently-for-art-sales-success

 

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash 

It's not a slippery slope, just do the research and start somewhere! Remember to ALWAYS COVER YOUR COSTS - at all costs!

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year old non-profit art group in PWC for the the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/

Post 115: Pricing Your Artwork

Pricing Your Artwork

The biggest question, and the hardest answer to come to, is when an artist decides to sell his or her artwork and they ask themselves, "How much do I charge for it?"

Sure, you can charge ANYTHING you want for your artwork, but the point is, how do you price it to SELL? It is just as easy to under price it as well as to over price it, but how do you get to a FAIR price for it? May I dare say, a reasonable price for it?

 

Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash 

How Much is Your Time Worth?

Whether you decide to put a price tag on your artwork because you want to make a living from your art or you are tickled silly that someone just wants it, at a minimum you should have an idea of a fair hourly wage for yourself and what did it cost you to create it? That equals:

Hourly Wage x Time to Create the Painting + Cost of Materials = $?

That's only a starting point. Obviously, a newer inexperienced artist will be at a bit lower hourly wage than a long-time more experienced professional artist that has been selling art for years.

There are a few things to do to come to a reasonable price and we'll go through them here. 

1. Keep track of how much time it takes to do the work. You'll also need that information when building a proposal if you are asked for commissioned work so that you have an idea how to price that work too.

 

2. Keep track of your cost of materials. Obviously, look for the best prices for the best quality of materials you can afford, but if you come across a sale or free art supplies (!), you don't necessarily have to pass along those savings in the artwork price. What would older art supplies have cost you in TODAY'S purchase prices?

 

3. Are you selling outright as an independent artist or in a gallery, in an artist group, at an event, or on something like Etsy? You will need to figure in fees, costs and their cuts that help to have your artwork seen in the first place.

 

In other words, are you selling:

Wholesale - Will you be selling directly to your customers?

Retail - Will you be selling through an art gallery or art group? Know what their fee structure is. If you are lucky, it could be as low as 10-15% of your posted price OR it could be upwards of 50-60%.

 

Do Your Homework

We are not recommending you to "compare" your art to someone else's work but we are suggesting to research comparable artwork and see what they are charging for their work - and hopefully they are a selling artist as well.  

 

Go to your local art galleries and art shows and see what's selling. (By the way, those red dots on the label mean that the work is sold.) Or look at some of the online art sites and find work that is of similar style and medium to see what they charge. Find 3 or more artists that are painting pieces similar to what you do and get an average. Take note of course of the size, medium, canvas, if it is framed or not.

 

For the beginner artist, an important consideration is your talent, your skill level, your current position in the art world. By doing your artwork homework, this will give you a ballpark of where you may be able to step in.

An aside from these notes is to understand what most of your audience's location/area, show, or gallery will support or spend. As an extreme example, a known gallery in New York would have higher priced artwork than a small art show in a small town somewhere.

 

Cost of All Materials

What are the cost of all the materials you used to create your art piece?

All Cost of Materials: Canvas (Paper, Board, etc), Gesso, Paints (Acrylics or oil, Watercolor or Pastels, Inks, Markers, etc), Varnish, Fixatives, Wiring, a Frame - etc. 

Speaking of Frames: DOUBLE the price of your frame when adding to the art price so that you recuperate your time and expenses, matting etc.

Look at Other Costs: these can include a percentage of your website hosting for the year, travel expenses to get to the show, art fees to enter the show, and/or percentage of sales to the art group or gallery. Realize that there are hidden costs too which could be your art space, heating, cooling and water bills, etc.

What did you pay for the printing services for those art prints? 

Did you purchase art equipment - say a printer, weight scales, or an easel to paint that giant canvas?

What will you be paying for shipping to send the artwork across the country or across the world? The size of the artwork can potentially wildly add to your costs. Consider total weight and distance, shipping materials, label, postage. 

Also include the applicable taxes or duties, especially if allowing "free shipping".

See, there is potentially a lot that went into making that artwork. 

Options

Charge per Hour Plus Materials

Charge per Square Inch - here is a look at how per square inch would play out. I don't recommend starting at under $2.00 psi - it's there to see.

 

Artwork Commission Calculator

Try this calculator out too! 

https://hickmandesign.co.uk/resources/art-pricing-calculator/

Some Do's and Some Don'ts

• Do be consistent in your pricing - and don't have the same artwork listed at different prices in different locations.
  
• Don't sell yourself short, cover you costs!
  
• Do know your experience level as a starting point.
  
• Don't put artwork "on sale" for the most part (for consistency) - your artwork should slowly go UP over time as you grow in experience and art sales.
  
• Do document all of your sales and track your expenses. 
• Comparison shop and purchase your art materials on sale and at the best price whenever possible.
  
• Do try placing certain pieces in specific places, especially if you have the inventory to manage that. Perhaps your larger pieces for gallery events, some medium sized works for art shows and smaller, easier to ship sized for online sales as a suggestion. Do what works for you of course, but experiment to see what works best too.
• See the Artistry Spin's blog post on Commissions: https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2021/10/post-48-request-for-commission-for-your.html
  

This is a big subject, so I do recommend the following videos and web links so that you can be fair to yourself, to your potential buyers, AND actually to your fellow artists. Those artists that price their artwork terribly low don't do justice to the value of anyone's art.

 

Some Great Reading on this Important Subject

Artists Network - a great look at calculating your selling price at https://www.artistsnetwork.com/artist-life/a-simple-formula-for-pricing-artwork/ 

 

Format.com https://www.format.com/magazine/resources/art/how-to-price-your-art

 

The Art League - Beginner's Guide https://www.theartleague.org/blog/2016/05/20/how-to-price-your-artwork-a-beginners-guide/

 

Felt Magnet https://feltmagnet.com/crafts/How-Much-Should-I-Charge-For-My-Paintings

 

Skillshare Blog https://www.skillshare.com/blog/expert-advice-how-to-price-your-art/

 

ArtBusiness.com https://www.artbusiness.com/artists-how-to-price-your-art-for-sale.html#:~:text=Pay%20yourself%20a%20reasonable%20hourly%20wage%2C%20add%20the,X%2020%20hours%20%2B%20%2450%20cost%20of%20materials%29

 

How do you price your work? Do you do something different?

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Local Art: Visit us at Open Space Arts at Stonebridge in Woodbridge, VA on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 – it’s free to see the artwork! Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.