Pricing Your Artwork Part 2
Art is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
As stated in the previous post Pricing Your Artwork Part 1, art has a perceived value. Meaning it is based upon what people think it’s worth. Someone may have a painting priced at $15,000 but unless they have sold work previously for that amount or until this one sells for that amount, it’s all just speculation.
Currently the majority of my work sells for between $1000-$2000 per original painting. That is my average, some are less some are more. In the greater art universe, this is hardly big money when it comes to original paintings. However for my area, it is considered pretty good.
When I started out, my originals went for $200-$350. (Ummm . . . The picture shown here is perhaps a just a tiny little bit, before then.) Frankly, the work was probably worth only that at the time. Occasionally I run across someone who bought a piece long ago and they are thrilled the value of my work has grown.
I painted and then I sold the work. With more experience, I created better art that I was able to sell for more. It is cyclical. As I develop better skills, I get better known with more collectors and the value of what I produce increases. It (like everything) takes time to build.
Back to the Question.
So why did I raise the price of the Natural Grace painting even though the painting wasn’t selling?
Well, the prints were going well and there was serious interest in the original. I had greatly under priced it to begin with. (Mind you, it wasn’t really all that large of a piece being 10×30 it just looked like it was.) So if a serious patron was looking at it and then noticed this painting was priced lower than the rest on display of a similar size. There is a subconscious “Well what is wrong with this painting” that happens. Yes, a painting can be priced too low. So I kept raising the price until it was in line with the rest of my work and it sold quickly.
As I look back at it now, I am certain though I got a good price for it, I could have sold it for at least double than what it went for. It had that certain quality that people connected with. Horse people buy it. Young girls buy it as a symbol of the horse they want. And people who have no interest at all in horses buy it, though they usually can’t tell me why other than they like it. (I guess that is what it is all about.)
True Story: A young woman bought the print as a symbol of the horse she wanted. A little over a year later I ran into her at a warmblood trial. She bought a horse greatly resembling Natural Grace, and was excited to show me her new boy. He is a handsome dark bay Percheron cross (or perhaps he was a Friesian Sporthorse) and she loves him. She truely felt the artwork helped connect her to her new horse.
Where I’m at now
The reason I began making prints in the first place is that demand exceeded my capacity to fill it. At the time all of my work was water soluble pencil and often a painting of moderate size (around 22×30) could take 4-8 weeks to complete. If I wanted to make a living at my art I had to work faster, charge more or make prints. In the end I did all three.
As far as pricing my new originals I do factor in time spent (though it is by far the least important aspect.) Basically it comes down to how much I like the painting. How big of a check will make parting with it agreeable, within the pricing structure I currently have. Also, having the original on display usually is a boost for selling the prints. That also factors in.
When I do something completely new, like say . . . the small handmade paper paintings. I look at my usual pricing for paintings that size and begin there. If they sell quickly (which they have been) I will raise the price slowly, by $50 increments. I do this as long as they continue to sell well. When they quit selling I may back up a price break or two and let it rest there, until once again demand exceeds production.
Upcoming Posts
For my last Pricing Post I will give a very breif overview of what has already been discussed and add a few extra bits that didn’t really seem worthy of expansion. Also I will probably do something soon concerning exposure. (No I don’t mean nudity in public.) I am talking about exposure in terms of getting your art seen.
Tags: business
Thank you Mona, these posts have been so informative.
I like your point about putting a price on paintings that you would feel happy to part with them for. I think I may have to do this - I don’t think I will find anyone else exhibiting work of a similar standard for me to be able to compare. That kind of makes me feel cheeky about putting them up for sale - as if others will look and think “Who does she think she is? She only started painting in January!”. But at the same time friends and family have admired my pieces. Anita thinks they’re all great, but then she tends to like everyones work. Oh well. This is going to be a scary experience…
Hey Undaunted, Remember “Fake it ’til you make it?” I would say unless you have a very clever sales/marketing ploy to use your story of having been creating for less than a year, I would NOT mention it to anyone, especially at the event.
Be mindful of this, because it is so easy to be confiding in a friend and have people overhear. (again I am thinking of at the event) Some people like the idea of helping an emerging artist, but most do not. They want to think that they have good taste. And the best way for then to know they have good taste is when other people collect the same artist they are thinking about.
The great thing about art is it’s diversity and that it appeals to so many. Enjoy this opportunity and embrace it. Don’t worry about pricing your work too much. The market will tell you where your at. What a wonderful journey you are beginning.
I think your name says it . . . Undaunted.
Thank you Mona, you are so encouraging.
I understand what you’re saying about people wanting to know they have good taste and following the crowd. For this reason I thought about borrowing a painting I no longer own to put on display, so that I can write SOLD underneath it! Is that a bad thing to do? I don’t think the library would mind as we pay to use the space anyway, and they ask if the pieces are for sale or not, indicating that they also exhibit pieces that are not (if that makes sense!)
I think the SOLD idea is a good strategy to employ. Another possibility is to list it as “on loan from the collection of:” That way the person you are getting it from gets some credit and gets to feel it’s value because of the inclusion of the art show. Either way, it’s a good plan.
Cool, I think I will do that then
Thanks for the tips Mona 
Good morning Mona and Undaunted. Good luck with your pricing Undaunted. Thanks for all of this information, Mona. I keep mulling pricing around in my head. I will be working on a website in about a month, and will really have to come to grips then. I am thinking of one half to two thirds of what people slightly more experienced than me are charging. I am debating about doing things or E-bay or a daily painting (or close to that) blog - small pieces, ACEOs, or 4×6 and 5X7 - like Maggie S. did to get started. A book I bought on marketing art on EBay says to charge on third of the gallery/retail price if sellilng on EBay! I have to think about a commission price structure, will probably start out by the square inch. I talked to an acquaintance about two weeks ago, thinking she wantd a traditional horse head portrait, I quoted her price per square inch, then she starts describing a picture of a full horse and her daughter, pre written prices would have been helpful - or I shouldn’t have assumed so much. She hasn’t committed to anything, may never come to fruition. Pricing, it all is rollilng around in my head for now. Thanks so much, again, for sharing your wisdom.
I am working on a couple of small dog CP portraits this week (the two that live here right now). Still have not posted any thing from last week, will let you know when I do.
Happy Painting, Angela
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P.S. Mona, I think it is fantastic that you average between $1,000 and $2,000 in your area — I think this is a tribute to the high quality and beauty of your work. Angela
Hello Angela,
I have been selling on eBay for 2 years now, though only prints. If you start on eBay be prepared to sell things very cheaply at first. I only started with prints because I am not willing to undersell my original work. eBay has been pretty good for a little extra income. It like everything else takes huge amounts of effort for success. My small open edition pre-matted prints sell for $25 everywhere (like gallery, fairs etc.) on eBay they are priced at $9.95. Following my price it the same everywhere rule, what they get on eBay is a barebones version. No mats just print only.
I have a friend who is a daily painter who makes almost her entire living selling work online. The Daily Painters thing is excellent. It has a huge following.
I think Maggie has done an excellent job succeeding in marketing online. I am sooo disappointed that she is quitting the art thing to write full time. Good for her though. What an opportunity. Actually it was an article in ArtCalendar magazine about ACEO’s that got me started on eBay. It was only much later (when I discovered her blog) I found out Maggie was one of the three artists interviewed for it.
I am always thrilled to sell a painting for a couple of thousand, but I am not deluding myself into thinking that is big time. I wonder if when I get to 5 figure sales I’ll be saying the same thing. You know, you reach a plateau, then you set your sites on the next goal. I wonder if when I am selling pieces for $10,000, I’ll be thinking “I’ll know I have made it when I sell something for $25,000.”
Oh, I forgot to mention my experience with eBay was totally auction style. I have no eBay store.