How do you price your art? This is one of the biggest questions for artists. I’m going to preface all of this by saying that at the end of the day, you decide your value. Price accordingly.
The Tips And Tools
If you have never sold your art before, one of my recommendations is to look at the pricing of other artists with similar experience, style, and sizes. You don’t have to use their pricing, but it at least gives you a baseline to work off of. You will need to consider if you want to sell based off of volume, moving a lot of work, or value, perhaps selling at a higher price. As I previously mentioned, you decide your value. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone will recognize that value. Adjust accordingly, but make sure you don’t sell yourself short. Far too many artists do.
There are really two popular models for pricing art. The first is time and materials. You take the materials costs and mark them up with the desired margins. You then take the time it takes to create the piece and multiply it by the hourly rate. Maybe your material costs were $75, and you decide to double that, which is $150. The piece takes you 10 hours and you decide your hourly rate is $30. That now puts you at $300 for the hourly, plus the $150. That leaves you with a sale price of $450. Nice and simple.
The second popular pricing model is a square footage model, square inch or foot. I typically use the square foot model as my base. Say I have a 3’ x 3’ painting, that’s 9 square feet. Say I have a rate of $400 per square foot, that 400 x 9 = $3,600. I mentioned I use this as my base, because I have a hybrid model where that gives me a general price, but I also evaluate a number of other things like if it’s a specialty piece, etc. One of the key variables to consider for this model is that, depending on your work and style, sometimes smaller works are just as much work, and more challenging. That’s why all of these are great as general guidelines, with the flexibility to do whatever the **** you want. It’s your art. You get to decide the price.
My Experience And Insights
Pricing art can feel so complicated, but you just have to start somewhere. You can always adjust. I still do. Over the course of my multi-decade career, I have sold over a million dollars in art, with my highest ticket sales so far being $25k. Eventually I hope to hit 100k. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve learned a few things, and I would like to share them with you to hopefully help you on your journey. If you’ve never sold anything for more than $100, or never sold anything at all, don’t be discouraged. You only haven’t until you have. If you want to get there, you absolutely can. I do want to say though that the most important thing about art is the art. Selling art is really just icing on the cake. I actually recently shifted back to teaching a few hours a week to lighten the stress of diminished sales in a struggling market. It has helped so much. There is no right or wrong way to do this. You just have to find the way that works for you.
Sales, particularly in the art world, can be a rollercoaster. Whereas many other industries have consistent patterns and trends, that’s not always the case in the art world. I have periods of both great feast and famine. A price point that works for you one period may not work the next, and vice versa. There’s also an interesting psychology to sales. There was a time that I had a painting that I had priced at a certain price point for several years without finding a buyer. I then bumped the price up 25x the cost it wasn’t selling for. Guess what? IT SOLD! That doesn’t mean this will always be the case, but it says something about perceptions of value, and is also a reminder that you may be undervaluing yourself. It also says that art sales are about getting your art in front of the right people at the right time. Sometimes that’s all it really is.
A Few Other Things To Consider
It’s always easier to lower prices than to raise them. Another benefit of having a higher base price is that it gives you wiggle room for things like partnerships and discounts for specials and sales.
If you ship a lot of work, especially long distances, you may want to factor this into pricing and build it in. Shipping costs, particularly on larger dollar items, can deter collectors.
Take into account transaction fees and commission splits. If you work with commercial galleries, the typical split is 50%. Galleries do not want you selling your art for one price, and then doubling it when you start working with them. This is one of the fastest ways to kill a gallery relationship.
Closing Thoughts
I would love to hear your thoughts and tips on pricing art. For those that are confused about pricing, I hope this helps a little. If still in doubt, just ask yourself…What is a piece of your soul worth? It’s priceless. When it comes down to pricing your art, throw out a number that would allow you to feel comfortable if someone walks away with that piece of you. That’s a win/win. At the end of the day, sales are cool, but Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive. Struggling with sales does not make you less of an artist. The thing that ultimately makes you a successful artist, is making art.
More tips and support on my social platforms. Join me on this journey HERE