Friday, September 16, 2011

Paint Party Friday: Week 27 Check-In


Welcome to Paint Party Friday Week 27! We are thrilled, as always to have such a great turnout at the party! Since we've had some email questions about people wanting to join in, we want to say YES!! If you want to paint (and party), you are very welcome and indeed invited to join in the fun!

 Last week we discovered what your upcoming goals are and (surprise!) for many of us, painting is at the top of our priority list!  No matter what your goals, what you are painting, or what other creative ventures you are working on, you all continue to inspire us.

Last week in her PPF post, Kat (from Kat's Nature) posed a question about pricing her finished oil painting.  We thought it was a very interesting topic and since it is relevant to many of us, we wanted to discuss it further. So this week we're asking:  How do you price your artwork?


Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.


This promises to be a lively conversation at the party (in the comments) so check back often and join the discussion. Have a great time at the party - whether you are interested in selling your art or you create for yourself.

P.S. If you have a topic, you'd like to see turned into a PPF poll question, please email us your idea!

48 comments:

  1. Funny about this poll, I was just blogging about this same thing a couple of days ago!
    It takes a lot of things in consideration, like time spent on it, how much you like it, how much you $pent on it, and also, the following. Some people can doodle on a napkin and sell it for thousands :o}

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  2. I am in the blessed position of not having to make a living from my art. When I had my exhibition I made the prices low - actually dirt cheap - cos I was concerned I was going to end up with a storage problem! I certainly don't have space for anything else right now! One I wanted to keep I made more expensive.

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  3. I have no idea. Right now though with FAA, they add their price to the paintings should they sell. Depends on size, whether it be canvas, or paper. I too don't make a living from my art, most of it I give away or just have cheap yard sales. My studio is filled with my paintings and hopefully one day they will be in a famous museum. I know I have to die before that happens, but hopefully it will. Tee Hee. I just enjoy paintings, selling is fine one way or the other. I'm easy.:() Take care and have a great weekend.

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  4. I have no idea either, as I've never sold or tried to sell a painting. I wouldn't know where to start.

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  5. It all depends on the the client, the market, and the final product. Each application has a different scale, and sometimes it's a formula only based on my years in the business, the market, and other completely random factors.

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  6. For me it depends on the piece - if it is a pointy portrait then I base it on a price per hour as these can take many hours to complete. Otherwise I try to work out a combination of materials + time + complexity and come up with a price that means I'm not making a loss!

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  7. I have no idea, I have never tried to sell anything, I don't think anyone would want to buy what I make! Happy PPF, Valerie

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  8. Great question and I'm in the same boat as most others....not a clue! Really interested to see what others have to say!

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  9. Just joined the party!
    Set the goal in May of 1 painting a week...
    so far so good!

    Elated to have found PPF to meet others with similar goals! Very inspiring!!

    I look forward to linking up and checking out others paintings on Fridays!
    All the best,
    Mary

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  10. I had so so much fun this week making index cards for this study of larger paintings. I price my work depending on the size of the canvas. As simple as that. Happy PPF!

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  11. This is a great question this week. I get upset when I see so many great artists practically giving their art away. I think we have to consider a number of aspects when we price our art.
    Firstly - how long did it take? What is your hourly rate? Consider how many years of experience you have and what training you have taken. Do not under price your talent!

    How much did you materials cost? A rough estimate at least!

    What would you pay for it?

    What would you think if it was only priced at $30. Would you think it was too cheap and therefore inferior? If you are buying a piece of original art, wouldn't you want to think it was special (ie expensive). Don't undervalue yourself.

    Of course, it's all very well me writing all this, but we all know how hard it is to sell art. This is the theory, but in practice????

    I just think it is unfair that so much talent is undervalued. I think we, as artists need to work together to shift a mindset. After all, we'd go out for dinner and happily pay £30 for a meal that's gone in 30 minutes. We'd pay £8 to see a movie, £40 for a skirt, £100 for a pair of boots.

    WE ARE SPECIAL! Until we all stop undercharging for our work, we are never going to earn what we are worth. How on earth do we fix this??

    Discuss!!

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  12. Fantastic question, we all love a sale (makes me feel loved, sad but true) but it's not about the money, I could never judge art by a price tag, what someone gives away can be worth so much more than something with a thousand dollar price tag... just not always in 'financial' terms :)

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  13. I tried commenting twice now and keep getting error messages saying my account does not let me view this page, but I have the same Google account I've always had. Funny, I get the same error message when I visit a couple other sites.

    Anyway, et's see if it works THIS time as I try to go in anonymously.

    As for pricing paintings, I've only traded and created a piece for autism awareness but never actually sold anything. My landscape artist friend, Linda Apriletti, sells her work anywhere from $250 - $800 (or more depending on the size of the canvas).

    Happy PPF, Chicas! I've missed you.

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  14. PS - That was me, Ileana from "arroz con mango."

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  15. Happy PPF and thanks again ~ Pricing is always difficult ~ since I am a novice ~ I would do an informal comparative analysis and see what the market is like and go from there ~ namaste, Carol ^_^

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  16. Hello after a few weeks away is a pleasure to contact you.
    As for the price of the works I think size matters, there goes the cost of material and time of the artist Hugs to all

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  17. This is my first time playing 'paint party' so am getting familiar with what is going on.
    As for the poll, I don't sell my paintings so have no idea how to price them.

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  18. very interesting topic, waiting to learn from all the comments today!

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  19. This is such an interesting topic. I'm glad we're discussing it because I'm always at a loss at what to charge. It depends on so many different things. I love what Shelle said about somethimes a gift can be worth more than something with a thousand dollar price tag and how its nice when its not about the money. It all depends on if you are doing art for a living or if you have another day job and don't need the income. And even that can be tricky because I find sometimes I sell even lower when I am only doing art because I'm starving and desperate then, ha!Sometimes is just depends on who I'm selling too, like at work I always give the girls a discount! And even on Etsy I tend to stay low because I feel like we're all friends a and its nice to help each other out! But I do agree with Wrightstuff saying that as a business we need to not sell ourselves short. Then theres the whole thing of how attached I get to the painting. I don't sell my huge originals because I'm way to attached and would have to ask an outrageous amount. Even the aceos I have trouble parting with and those are low but I don't think anyone would buy them if they were way out there. Lucky they are small enough that a photo is close enough to have a memory copy if something sells, ha!Sometimes I admit I price according to how much I had to pay for a booth space if doing a show. Kinda like if ya had a store and ya have to pay rent on it, ya figure that in your sales. Happy PPF everyone! Whatever we come up for as a price, all I know is I LOVE to paint! Deb

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  20. YAY - happy to be here today! It's been a long week of getting back into the Back to School routine...can't wait to see what everyone has on their paint party today!

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  21. The ever lasting question. How much am I worth. :) Don't have an answere for that. I started out low price then saw how much it sold then I uped the price. :)

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  22. Very good topic! I sell my art on etsy and am pretty sure I charge too little. I think where I skimp is on the work I put into the piece and of course my worth.

    Interested to read all these comments and see what people are thinking about this!

    Happy PPF!

    :)

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  23. I charge more for the big ones and more for the ones I really like. Then again, selling is rare.

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  24. perfect topic for me today! I am SO bad at pricing my creations. Initially I decided what I needed per hour for my efforts and would try to price accordingly. I've let pieces go for far too little. Just yesterday a friend had to have a piece that I created and she asked how much she owed me and I asked her how much she thought it was worth - WHATTHEHECK? I need to get a bit more professional here! I have a bunch of pieces to list on Etsy, need to price 'em and get them on there ... after I read all your comments, I'll know just how to price them ... Thank YOU for sharing, I just LOVE it here :) ... we'll see

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  25. I haven't really sold any of my artwork, unless you count selling a sketch for $1 in high school! That still makes me chuckle, because she insisted she pay me something (I just wanted to give it to her since she admired it so much)... I wanted her to stop bugging me, so I finally just accepted her dollar ;)

    Can't wait to see what everyone's been up to this week! Happy PPF :)

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  26. Hi I
    I am Kat Griffin...wow this is a good topic. thanks for being so into this question everyon !I don't really make a living on selling art works. but I would LOVE to..I know how much i spend on paint and cavaas and brushes and ... I spend lots of my time working on ideas and painting. But I realize that Im probably stuck in the lower price ranges for art. I do sell stuff at a few places and have been able to get between 75 and 200 for a oil painting. which makes me happy. I am amazed by artists that get thousands in my studios building. I can't even imagine that feeling.At least I can pay for more paints every once in awhile...but this is not paying my mortgage or anything like that good thing I am married to a perfectionist, all business, hard working man. He is so the opposite of my personality LOL Love you all
    Happy PPF - KAT Griffin

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  27. I think the market someone is in plays a role. I think 'where' you are selling plays a role. Are you selling through a gallery? Etsy? A Festival? An artist website? It all matters. Like any artform. Take music for instance. I have gone to see huge stars perform and paid big buck to see them. Yet, there are times when I have been in a local 'joint' and heard amazing musical work for next to nothing. So many variables really.

    This is my first time here!! Yay! So glad I found you guys. Special thanks to Kat Griffin for posting about this on her blog.:)

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  28. I don't know anything about pricing art work since I don't sell my stuff. I have had relatives ask if I'd leave them certain paintings so I've written their names on the backs of the paintings. I donate my cards and bookmarks to the church bazaar. The greetings cards sell for $2.50 each and the bookmarks go for $2.00. The oil paintings and watercolors are on my walls all over my house. Every now and then I change them up a bit.

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  29. when pricing my art I take into consideration prices of other pieces at the gallery, they actually decide the price partly, but if I sell private I charge no more than what I would consider fair, what I would pay for the peice.I want the everyday joe like myself to buy my art not priced so high that only the wealthy could buy, thats just not the way I want my art to be sold.I give alot away as well, I want my art to be enjoyed not considered firstly an investment, of course i don't make a living at this and would starve if I did!

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  30. I do a lot of different kinds of art. My stone animals are priced basically on time spent, since there is little material cost. They are my best sellers. In the antique mall where I have my booth, it is rare to sell a canvas, even my lower priced One Stroke style ones, but I do sell one occasionally. I do have a number of larger, more involved works completed in the past two years listed on my website. These are priced mostly by the number of hours spent + how well it has turned out. If I'm really thrilled with it and think it's really good then I'll put a higher price on it.

    For all the dog portraits I did this summer I really under priced the work,as I had to give a price before I started. Gaining experience with each one, I raised the price for the next one. Now I have a much better idea of what to charge for the next one and may work out a price structure based on the size of the canvas and number of animals.

    I agree with Wrightstuff, we tend to undervalue ourselves. I think we are afraid if we put a price that really reflects the amount of time and effort we put into it, that people will think we are crazy and we will never sell a thing. I know I have that fear and am working hard to get over it!

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  31. That's a tough question and have a hard time deciding on pricing for the originals...i think that's why I like Zazzle to sell my art through. Thanks for the link up...looking forward to seeing what everyone's been up too! POP ART MINIS

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  32. Depending on the art-work in question I consider what the initial cost of materials was, time spent on the work, the amount of work and time I put into the art piece and basically what others are charging and try to stay in the average price range.
    I think this topic is great and I could always use more help with this, so thanks for covering it Kristin and Eva.

    Annabelle

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  33. I haven't even tried to sell my art, but I read a really interesting post about this a few weeks ago and now I can't remember where. My takeaway was that if I go out and sell my work dirt cheap (because I don't value myself or my work and don't believe anyone would want it) I am undermining the community of hard working talented artists who are trying to make a living doing this. (I'm paraphrasing this poorly). WrightStuff's inspired comments about artists working together to create a mind shift made me think of this. Certainly, we all need to value ourselves more (as artists, as women, as humans). It's so easy for us to say "oh this old thing? that's nothing". I'm also starting to see that if I want to be part of a community of artists, I need to think about the greater good of the community. If I went out to sell something I would instinctively price it reeeaally low because 1. I don't think it's worth much 2. I really want the thrill of a sale and I think a low price will attract a buyer and 3. making money isn't my goal because I have a full-time day job. BUT, If I (hypothetically) have the same amount of talent and similar style as another artist with better self esteem, business acumen, and no additional income sources, am I devaluing her work, and the overall importance and value of art in our community and culture?
    This is a great discussion. I feel light years away from selling art, and I'm not even sure that's my goal, but these are important things to talk about and consider!

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  34. I didn't post anything this week, but Kristin pointed me in the direction of this discussion, thinking I might like to weigh-in. (P.S. There are all kinds of paintings and sketches posted on my blog. I won't link them, but feel free to check them out!)

    I had this debate with myself for years. I know, with certainty that an artist MUST be consistent with pricing. That's what the buyer respects. You can't price one piece the same size as another for more or less because you think you did more (or less) work on the one. It doesn't work. The solution? (And I forget where I first came across this idea) Price per square inch. As your technique and style progress, so does your pricing. It is a great way to let the buyer know what to expect and it gets rid of all that questioning as to what to base your prices on.

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  35. I belong to an art society that has shows. 10% of sales of a painting goes into a trust fund that gives money to local schools for their art programs.
    I also am in a "circuit" group within the society that rotates paintings in local restaurants. We change paintings every 3 months at 9 different places. Sales are down from 8-9 years ago(I think because of the economy)
    I enter juried shows if I feel a painting is special. It is always scary to be judged, but I always learn something!

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  36. Wow this question is definitely a minefield and with so many wonderful artists contributing with answers. Am learning one heck of a lot. Enjoy the party. Annette xx

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  37. Sorry I'm a little late to the party. I am horrible when it comes to pricing my work, so I look forward to reading through everyone's comments. I usually just take the 'go with my gut approach', which I know isn't the best course of action.

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  38. Its been some years since I've sold anything but in retrospect I think I underpriced my work.

    Not everybody is going to like my work but those that do would probably be willing to pay more than I have asked.

    I think many artists and women in particular don't think they are worth enough to charge decent money for their efforts.

    Nowadays I try to remember that people value more ( rightly or wrongly) something they have paid good money for. If something is too cheap its easy to ignore.

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  39. I HATE pricing things! I agree with those folks above me who said if they priced things according to how many hours they'd spent, their paintings would NEVER sell! So I price mine pretty cheap (usually comes out to around to $15 -$25 an hour making them them less than $300) unless it's one I really love; then I price it based on hours spent AND how much it would take for me to part with it (tho even in that case, still pretty cheap compared to some folks ;))
    This was a really interesting topic- thanks for posting it!

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  40. This is my first time here. The discussion about pricing is something I would love to know more about.

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  41. Thanks to everyone for a great discussion so far! I have learned so much already. Thank you for sharing so many of your experiences and insights.

    As a new painter with much to learn, I haven't thought much about selling or pricing. I know at some point I'd love to sell a painting (if only to say I have) but I'm not ready yet.

    I was however thrilled last year when I painted a painting for friends. They spent several hundred dollars to frame it - which I interpreted as a measure of how much they liked and valued it. :)

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  42. Since I made my living as a full-time mural artist and decorative painter for 7 years before I had my son, I feel most comfortable pricing things on that scale... But I think a lot of the same guidelines I used then still hold true for smaller paintings.

    I think it is important to take all of the answers in the poll into account when determining a price. There is no magic formula since so many factors need to be considered. My murals were based on complexity, time needed, materials, and size. I always gave my price up front so my clients knew what to expect. The only time I used a "formula" was when I did decorative painting (like stencil work which was by the linear foot, or venetian plaster, color washing, sponge painting, etc. which was by the square foot).

    I agree - be confident in your pricing, value yourself and your art, and never sell yourself short :)

    This has turned out to be one of my favorite discussions so far - I love hearing everyone's thoughts on this topic!

    Thank you all for your input!!!

    xo
    Kristin

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  43. i haven't sold much of my work yet, not sure my style is so marketable, lol

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  44. Here's an interesting website I found today
    http://www.scrabbleart.co.uk/category-s/1829.htm

    Look at how much they charge for some scrabble tiles!!

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  45. Well I posted mine, even though it's not a painting this week and I'm late, but hey I'm here!!
    I haven't ever sold any of my art, I have always just gave them away to family and friends. So I don't know it's hard to say!

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  46. Looking forward to learn more about PPF and participate. Thanks

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  47. Just back from a small holiday, thinking about an etsy shop which opens all sorts of pricing questions. Any ideas feedback about when to be ready to take the leap? Or other ideas on web sales? I would value feedback.
    Thanks :)

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