pricing artwork

woodchuck

I paint in my spare time and am planning to exhibit some of my work soon. I’m having a hard time working how to price everything though! I’m able to work out the cost in terms of materials used and labour (based on minimum wage per hour), but I’m not sure how much (if any!) I should add on top of that. For example I’ve a painting that works out at about 100euro (just materials and labour), so would it be reasonable to try and sell it for 150euro or is that too much of a mark up considering I’m an unknown artist? Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

slowburner

woodchuck wrote: »

I paint in my spare time and am planning to exhibit some of my work soon. I’m having a hard time working how to price everything though! I’m able to work out the cost in terms of materials used and labour (based on minimum wage per hour), but I’m not sure how much (if any!) I should add on top of that. For example I’ve a painting that works out at about 100euro (just materials and labour), so would it be reasonable to try and sell it for 150euro or is that too much of a mark up considering I’m an unknown artist? Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

This is a tricky subject and I hope there will be a good deal more input from others.
If you are going to exhibit in a gallery, they will take (on average) about 40% of the final price. Obviously, your price will have to take account of that.
I once heard a rule of thumb that an asking price should be worked out as follows;

1 third material costs, 1 third administration/time/labour costs and 1 third profit.

The formula seems to fit your example very well indeed

woodchuck

Thanks a million for your reply! Good to know I’m in the right ballpark then No gallery involved at the moment, but I’ll keep your comments in mind if it gets to that stage.

I’m not sure if it’s worth mentioning as well that I don’t use the highest quality materials or stretch my own canvases. I tend to take advantage of sales when I spot them on half price canvas, paints (acrylic) etc, or just generally go for the cheapest materials regardless of the make. I just can’t afford to spend a huge amount on supplies atm. But would the best quality materials only be a must if selling at much higher prices?

slowburner

I'm not a painter so I'm not qualified to answer that one Undoubtedly some one will call by soon who can answer.

woodchuck

slowburner wrote: »

I'm not a painter so I'm not qualified to answer that one Undoubtedly some one will call by soon who can answer.

Ah right, no worries

If anyone has additional input I'd really appreciate hearing peoples opinions! I've tried searching old threads and googling but it's hard to get any sort of straight answer... maybe because there isn't one :P I don't want to undersell my stuff, but I obviously know that I'm in no position to be putting on 4 figure prices either!

I'm going to try and take some half decent photos and upload them onto the 'my artwork' sticky when I get a chance if that's any use (although I've also read that the quality of paintings doesn't really dictate the cost?). It's a mix of wildlife (but more of a modern/contemporary type of style) and abstract. The sizes are generally A2 give or take, I've also some smaller ones too though (sell for less due to size alone?). Mostly acrylic on canvas, some acrylic on paper that I've framed. Sorry, I'm just trying to give as much info as possible cause I'm not sure what might be important

Will

slowburner wrote: »

I'm not a painter so I'm not qualified to answer that one Undoubtedly some one will call by soon who can answer.

How about wood turning?

It's something I struggle with a lot is how to price my work

Tiriel

Hi,

I have been observing this thread and keeping quiet as there really is no 'correct answer' as such. I have taken part in a few small exhibitions over the past couple of years and when it comes to pricing, the best advice I can give is to give a look around at other artists that are doing similar work to yourself, in terms of size, experience as an artist, etc.

Some people price according to the method you have described above, personally - I price with a balance of what I know I can get for the piece and a hope that I have an audience. Some of my work is more popular and seems to sell better, these pieces I am gradually building up in terms of price.

So - best advice I can give is to look around at the work of other artists, be realistic about what you are selling - if materials are not of good quality then you should reflect this, I personally would be disappointed if I bought a piece I really liked only for the paint to flake off or become discoloured over a short time..

Best of luck with it all and I hope to see you selling some work soon

Will

I've asked this on numerous forums before and usually it boils down to a few key points, mainly pricing it as "reassuringly expensive". I see wooden bowls on some sites from €250 - €5,000. The people who charge the high prices have been at it years.

slowburner

Will wrote: »

How about wood turning?

It's something I struggle with a lot is how to price my work

Me too.
The thing that I have found with turning is that if you get faster, you get more profitable. Paradoxically, I find that speed somehow seems to increase quality - I can't see that happening with painting.
I still struggle with pricing, big time.
I think you have to get a feel for what your work might fetch. Of course, it's very, very tough to get decent prices in the current climate.

If you would like to get an idea of prices that you and I could only dream about, have a look here
http://www.woodturner.org/resources/bb/a_g_gallery/

woodchuck

Thanks guys!

It’s for the peoples art exhibition on stephens green… any time I’ve looked at prices in the past a lot of them can be quite high, but it mostly seems like it’s artists that have been doing it for years there, so it’s hard to compare myself to someone just starting out. I don’t think if I charge in the 150-200euro range that it’s so low it would be out of place though, so I might try to stick to that range for the larger pieces. I’ve been told before that a lot of people are actually put off by low prices!? So I don’t want to alienate buyers either.

I’ve had a few pieces for a couple of years that haven’t flaked or faded, so I guess the paint I use can’t be that bad really But you’re right that I wouldn’t want to charge a load for something that’s not going to last a long time… I don’t know how they would hold up after 5-10 years say.

Will

slowburner wrote: »

Me too.
The thing that I have found with turning is that if you get faster, you get more profitable. Paradoxically, I find that speed somehow seems to increase quality - I can't see that happening with painting.
I still struggle with pricing, big time.
I think you have to get a feel for what your work might fetch. Of course, it's very, very tough to get decent prices in the current climate.

If you would like to get an idea of prices that you and I could only dream about, have a look here
http://www.woodturner.org/resources/bb/a_g_gallery/

Some of the pieces there are awe inspiring. I've a book about bob stocksdale, loads of pictures of his wood and an interview more or less. Amazing.

slowburner

Will wrote: »

Some of the pieces there are awe inspiring. I've a book about bob stocksdale, loads of pictures of his wood and an interview more or less. Amazing.

Inspiring is right.
What I like about a lot of the stuff there is the crossover between craft and art.

Will

The flow of most of the pieces too. Very natural and beautiful

slowburner

You've put you finger on it there. Flow is what wood turning is all about.