Reply To: Pricing Artwork
Pricing of artwork is a real minefield. I think that there as many ways to price your work as there are artists. So what I can offer is my way. Unlike Christopher, I never price my work on an hourly basis, because to me, how long a painting takes to complete is irrelevant. What matters is the quality of the work, the vision of the Artist, the cost of materials (to an extent) and framing, plus commission.
My method is to consider what I want for my unframed painting (mostly watercolours), based on my experience and length of time as an artist, what I have previously sold paintings for, and finally, the quality of this particular piece. This is still a subjective amount, but then I add the cost of the framing and the expected commission of where I will be displaying it (or a general 30%).
The thing to watch is that to just add 30% to the cost of painting plus framing will result in a lower amount that you want. So always ‘check’ the amount by then taking the ‘30%’ from your decided price and adjust it as necessary (try adding 45%).
As a new artist, you may also need to check around artshows and other artists (taking into account their experience and technical level) and judge where your paintings may sit within other works the marketplace.
Sorry for the lengthy reply, but it is a hard topic.
