Chapter 9: Pricing My Art
Most artists I have met have trouble pricing their artwork. Many just randomly put a price on their work, based on what they think someone will pay for it. I’ve even heard of artists that price their work based on how much money they need at that time to pay the power bill or rent!
Other artists price their work based on time and materials. This is the approach I take; since I have worked as a freelance Graphic Designer, I got into the habit of keeping track of my time on a project. My approach with my fine artwork is a little looser, but I still estimate how much time I have spent on a piece and price it at $15 – $25 per hour. By doing this, it has also pushed me to change my medium over the years to something that I could create in a reasonable amount of time without pricing myself out of the market. I landed on wire sculpture since it comes to me fairly quickly, and the materials are fairly inexpensive.
Years ago, I participated in a show in Sarasota. I really admired one of the sculptures in the show, and struck up a conversation with the artist. There was no price on the piece, so I asked him the price. His response was “$5,000”. I was a little taken aback since I thought that was high, so I questioned whether he thought he could get that much. He said “I price everything I do at $5000. I think I am worth that”. I hope that sculptor was able to get his price! Maybe someday I will price everything I make at $5000 (or higher!).
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