14x18 inches
acrylic on Birch Board
silver frame
1000.00
Purchase at: www.lindablondheim.com
Painters Tip
More On Pricing
Some artists use formulas for pricing their work and that is really the easiest way. Charging by the square inch works well, but what you must do is lessen the square inch cost as you go up in size. If you keep all sizes the same price per SI you will have some mighty expensive large paintings which may not sell. For instance, If you charge 4.00 per SI you would have an 8x10 inch painting for $320.00
That formula for a 30x40 painting would make it worth $4800.00 As an emerging artist you will not be able to command that price most likely. By staging the SI price from high for small works to lower for large works, You will be ok. There are lots of artists who will disagree with me on this but that is the way I do it.
Here is what I recommend for someone starting out in selling. I would do a fair amount of looking at other artists who are at your same level of skill and see what they are selling for in your market area. If you have been invited to show in a gallery, pay a visit there and check prices in the range of artists they are showing. Ask the dealer for an opinion. If you are not interested in showing in the gallery venue, check web sites to see what artists are selling for at about your same level. Visit a few outdoor art festivals to compare skill and price levels of other artists who are doing the same subjects. Try to set your prices a bit lower but not much. As your work sells, increase your prices a little each year, but only if they are selling regularly.
Raising prices is a risk. What you must do is be willing to sit on the work until the market catches back up to your price level. What will often happen is that you will lose your lower end market and move into another market. This can often take some time, an you must be willing to wait it out. In the mean time you can use some other strategies, by creating a lower end market for unframed miniatures which you can afford to sell at a more moderate price, or use a less prestigious medium than oils like small pencil or watercolor sketches. It is nice to be able to sell to small collectors because they will love your work and become devoted to it. Eventually, they will want to purchase a substantial painting from you.
I often get email from artists who need information on various topics. You are welcome to email me with suggestions for topics of discussion and I will write about them in Painters Tip for you. lindablondheim12@hotmail.com
2 comments:
i have always had difficulty pricing my work. i will charge less for older works ad while i do have some standard prices by size, i do charge moreif the work was in a prestigeous show, or if i think it is a particularly good piece. sometimes this works out, but it does sometime confuse collectors. i guess I'm not convinced that rigid pricing based on size works best for me...there's also the frame size to consider.
Well, Ed there are a million ways to look at pricing, and remember that my Tips are often geared for beginner or emerging artists who need to start somewhere.I do think that inconsistent pricing is problematic in that it sends a message to patrons that the artist is unsure of what he or she is worth. If the artist is unsure, then the patron loses faith.
I see no problem with studio sales for older work. I also have special rates for my patron club members on work I keep in the studio, not yet in galleries. This is only for patrons who have purchased from me and who need a bit of reward for their loyalty.
We must all make our own decisions about pricing and to go along with the experiment until we find what works for us. I am careful not to undercut my galleries because I owe them my loyalty. Once a work goes into the gallery, I will not sell it through my studio until the dealer has asked it to be removed. If the sales comes as a referral from a gallery I am sure to give them their commission.
Love,
Linda
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