The best price for your work?

Now.... I'm not here to tell you how to price your work. The price of your work depends on how valuable your time is to you, how much time you put into the work, and  your worth over  all. So lets talk about how much your time is worth to you.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. How much are you getting paid at your current employment?
2. Based on your responsibilities, do you feel you should be getting paid more? 
3. If you answered "yes" to question 2, then how much more should you be getting paid?

Of course, everyone will most likely give the same answer to question number two - "yes!"  But exactly how much more should you be getting paid for your time is the big question.


The numbers you are about to read are for my commercial artwork.

I use commercial work for art shows and festivals, and when I need to make faster sales with less effort. 

I think of it as this: How much would I like to be getting in a 30 hour work week?
For me it would be:

• $1,000 a week

So I take that number and break it down by the hour:

• =/ > $34 an hour.  

Make sure you think about the cost of the supplies as well and add in additional costs to make up for the replacements.

I spend no more than two hours making 4 small paintings at one time. They are all priced the same
(around $60 to $90 apiece, depending on the quality) from an 8" x 10"up to an 11"x17".  These final numbers include the cost of supplies, and even though those numbers are typically guess work, the numbers will always be positive.  I will say this: I do not keep record of my hours, but I do try to keep my hours spent on a small painting within the time line I gave.

After I come up with the numbers above for the largest size available,  I simply take those numbers and apply them to the next set of sizes. For example:

•  up to $90 for an 11"x17," then double the smallest side of the dimensions and double the price.   So that's  up to 22"x17" in size for around $180.

These numbers become lower or higher depending on the time it took to create and the need to sell the work. At the start of sale, their prices are around these numbers.
   

I do not write down or keep on the website the numbers above as I do for my commission works. It is better to let the client go find out how much less they would be paying if they had asked for something out of what is being offered.

When making a professional or commission piece, I go about pricing a bit differently.  I instead charge by the square foot, the type of medium to be used, and whether or not I have full artistic control when creating the painting.

To me, it does not matter how much time I put into it. I would only work on one or two paintings at a time, and I would spend weeks creating it. I would set it up this way purposely,  with my clients giving me the opportunity to finish the work in a timely manner.  Check out this page on my site for information on my final commission pricing:

http://www.anucafe.com/comissionwork.php

The detail within the painting is the only thing that would change when time restrictions are in place.  For example, the painting would probably be more abstract if I was only given a few weeks to finish a 5'x7' painting as opposed to having a few months to finish.

This one took me less then a week:

4'x5' in size

Price started at $1,200

Since I have had this one for a while, the price is now as low as I am willing to allow.

This one took me a  less then a month:

5'x7' in size

Price started at $2,200

A few hours a day every other day to complete; took a few years to sell, hence a slowly dropping price and an additional discount as it was purchased by a good friend.

This one took less then three months off-site for a salon on the west side:

5'x7' in size

Sold for $3,000 (included cost of supplies)

Up to 4 hours a day, every other day (no weekends) and a two-week break. Since it was a commission piece, it is an abstract representation of the salon during its evening hours. 

 Of course, these prices are reflective of past paintings. The price for my professional work has increased over time.

A few tips when selling your work: 

• Always place your final pricing list in a area that can be viewed by others. Website, contract, forms etc. 
• If they see that you thought about your prices and you're not just throwing out a random number, they will feel less inclined to try to argue the price down.

• Always set a higher price that what you originally want for your work and offer deals and discounts when needed. However, never go below your set final pricing.
• If you set your work high, you can offer a discount when you think you're close to a sale and want to give the client that extra push to purchase without lowering the value of your time.

• Never, never let friends and family tell you otherwise!
• These people should know more than anyone how much time and effort you put into your work; don't let them convince you to lower your prices simply because you're family or close associates. That should be your choice whether or not your prices should be lower, not theirs.

• Try to stay consistent with your prices and rise them as you go. 

When people question your prices,  what should you do?

Occasionally I am sure people will ask you: why so high?  When this happens, you should first re-inform yourself that your prices are not too high.

When someone ask you this question, try to make them aware of what they are asking without insulting them in the process.

1. Ask them if what they are getting paid at their job is enough.
2. Remind them that it takes a lot of time to finish a painting and that's time you could have spent doing THEIR job.
3. Then, close by asking, "How much would you want to get paid if you spent 40 hours on this painting?"

Hopefully by that time they will come to an understanding and realize one thing:

The price of your painting is not high, they simply can't afford it!