Why Commission Puts Food On My Table.

Mark Harris

I have had another busy week, with lots of work coming at me from every direction. I am climbing the work mountain and the view is pretty good from up here.

This week has seen me have to justify why I charge commission. I don't think people realise that it is a necessary evil. When I exhibit else where I also have to pay the venue a commission. 

When people hire my gallery essentially they are renting the space and me for about £20 a day. That is a nonsense wage. I need commission from sales to give me an income. The gallery is also open 6 days a week and needs to be lit, have internet access and be heated. Unfortunately, up until now none of the major telecom or utility providers have seen fit to give me those services for free. I will however keep asking.

I don't ask for much but I would also like to stay open and continue to provide the service that I do. In my last blog I wrote about how important it is to support your local galleries. It really is important that you do. I am sure there are some unscrupulous galleries out there, in fact I know there are. Some charging up to and beyond £500 a day. What do get for your money? 

The space, maybe a great location, access sometimes to their mailing list, a presence on their website. You would be expected to curate and hang your own exhibition, host your own Private View and then man the exhibition, produce your own price lists and labels. That is not so great for the money but if you don't believe me then check it out for yourself. By the way I do all of the above in my most basic package.

I just really want to contextualise what actually takes place in terms of what you get for your cash.

Well that's more than enough about that, more importantly have you seen my latest exhibition? If not you should make sure that you do. It really is good, I know that I am biased but it is also true.
If you wanted a beautiful large scale abstract image at a price that is right for you then you can come and bid on one of Marks paintings.