PRICING YOUR ARTWORK
I have gone over this topic before, however I will address it again as I now have more information. Recently, I listened to a speech about pricing of artwork and in it I heard some interesting points that I think are important to share.
We as artists, often feel that if we are new in the field we should not ask the high prices that more established artists can get. While that may be true to some extent, if we price our artwork too low, we can actually drive away collectors. They may ask themselves "Why is this piece so much lower than the others? Is is not as good? Is the artist not confident in their work?"
These questions make us stop and think. Is that how I want my art to be seen by others? Do I not feel that my work is good enough to be hung and seen with more established artists? Do I devalue my work by my prices?
While we may not be able to get the high prices some artists are able to command, that certainly does not mean we cannot ask a reasonable amount for our work. If we price our artwork too low, we are in effect telling others that we do not think our work is good and not worth a decent price. So the question then becomes, What is a good price?
Some established artists I know command as much as $70,000 for a new painting. That's not what I am talking about here, let me make that clear. But, I AM saying that we should never UNDERPRICE our work! I have made this suggestion before, and it still stands, go out to galleries, stores, etc, or go online and look at other artists whose work is similar to yours in style, media, or quality. Look at the prices they are charging and then set your prices just below theirs. It may seem high at first, but believe me, the general population sees it and reacts to it in a favorable way.
Once, as an experiment, I reduced my prices to a rock-bottom amount similar to a high school or college student may have. The result was that my sales plummeted! When I increased the prices again, it took a while for the sales to build back up, but they did increase! I was amazed at these results, because I had thought they would increase with lower prices. It was a lesson learned. People strongly feel that "you get what you pay for!" If your prices are higher, your work is more valuable!
Now, I am NOT saying that you should go out and put exorbitant prices on your work! Far from it. When I was asked by an art gallery what my "gallery prices" were (meaning what price would be posted on my art when hung in the gallery) I went to the website of that gallery and carefully researched the artwork posted by the other artists. I then set my prices in line with theirs. Not the highest, but certainly not the lowest!
A suggested amount to begin with is around the price of $1 to $2 per square inch for a medium size piece of artwork, and then go up for a small piece and down for a large piece to keep the prices reasonable. Say for example you have an 16 x 20 canvas. At $2 (per sq. inch-psi) it would be priced at $640 (16 x 20 = 320 x 2) Well for a 10 x 10 that may be ok, but say you have a 5 x 7: $70 would be a low price. So you would jump to $2.50 psi bringing the price up to a more reasonable price of $87.50, or I would round up to $90-100 ($100 is $2.86 psi) Now if you have a large 36 x 48 canvas that would be way too much to ask, so you would drop back to perhaps $1 psi which puts it at $1728 or round it up to $1800. That is not an unreasonable price for such a large piece, assuming, of course, it is good enough to price and sell in the first place, of course!
So, think about this for a while and then decide where you will go with your prices. Remember, you tell others what you think of yourself and your work by the price you place on it. Don't get "puffed up with pride" but don't underestimate your worth either!
Below I have photos of my most recent sales. Enjoy, and thanks for your continued support!
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| "NIGHT TIDE" 10 x 8 Acrylic SOLD |
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| "JOYFUL" 36 x 8 "stack" painting Acrylic SOLD |
