How Much Is That Painting In The Window? The One With The.....

You can imagine that I regularly jump this particular hurdle both as a gallery owner and as an artist. I know that I have previously written at least two blogs about it but it seems that it is constantly a subject that proves tricky for artists.

I hear these two things very often. 'I just want to sell my work' and 'I don't want to take it back home with me'.

Invariably the next thing that happens is a protracted discussion about price lists/commission/time spent on work.

Sharon James

There is a truth that we all (myself included) must realise. It is very rare to get what would equate to a wage from the sale of an original piece of art.

Why?

The truth is that even though you have just produced that work your entire past has influenced it. Yes, that's right. Every single experience you've had up until the point of completion has had some kind of impact on the piece you have just finished.

N.B Another sad truth is I regularly see artists that under price their work. This is such a shame but they assure me that they would rather make 10 £50 sales than one for £250. You can't fault their logic but....how can they let go of their work so cheaply? Do they value their work? Or are they just realists?

Let's move on from there although I thought it was important to point it out. Ok let's talk about real time. I have regular discussions with people about how long they worked on pieces for. Some take weeks, months or even years.

Ask yourself these questions.

Did you approach the piece like you would a job?
Did you start work at 9.00 and finish at 5.00 every day for the length of time it took you to produce?

It is really important that I point to here that some of my best work has been produced in minutes as opposed to hours. Yes, that's right minutes. How do I price that? I'll let you know tomorrow.

I am going to take a wild guess and say for the majority 'no'. That's fine, you might have a full time job, a part time job, a family, a life in general.

You need to do a realistic breakdown of the time that you spent. Be honest with yourself.

I am going to continue this tomorrow.

I am going to finish now but I have one last question for you, to ask yourself when pricing your work.

What is the least amount of money that I would accept for this piece? The absolute bottom line.