I recently showed my artwork to a friend who asked me how much my paintings cost. When I told him over $6000, he gasped and said, “I thought it was $500!”
This happens occasionally and while I’m not offended, I think there is some mystification that leads people to have these reactions. Unfortunately, it’s more culturally acceptable to walk into a gallery space and do this than for me to walk into someone’s office, point at a spreadsheet and say, “I can’t believe they pay you x salary to make this!”
There is a cognitive gap between the labor being produced and its value, as so many of us do not see the work that goes into creating original art.
Here is my attempt to be as transparent about how I price my art, as well as address some common myths about the price of art or art services.
Supplies
Unless it’s a special project or commission, most artists know how much the supply cost will be for a large piece of work. Even though I’m a process-driven artist - meaning, I don’t have an exact image of what the final composition will be for my works - I can estimate fairly closely to how much paint I will use for the work. In the beginning, I certainly wasted a lot more paint - but I was also using cheaper studio materials.
I use professional paints, which cost anywhere from $20-50 for a 16 oz tube. I also use mediums and varnishes (I’ll calculate that later).
Canvases, depending on their size, range from $40-200. Currently, I use a lot of pre-stretched canvases, which cost a little more than rolled canvas, but not by much considering the hour(s) I would have to spend to stretch the canvas after.
Standard, store-bought canvases are sometimes cheaper than custom-sized canvases, which can cost in the hundreds to stretch depending on how large they are. I get my large canvases (upwards of 5 ft) stretched at Blick and think they run somewhere from $200+ per piece.
I pre-mix all my colors on prep days and work with this palette. I use a lot of colors and can work pretty fast, so I mix a new palette of 20-30 colors each series. Because I create large artworks, I can easily spend hundreds on paints and mediums each month, not to mention additional tools like brushes, pens and mixed media (gold ink).
Supplies for a 16 x 20 painting start at $100 and can go up exponentially due to shipping and handling costs for the heavier materials.
Hours
This gets a lot trickier. Some artists base this on their hourly pay from their current job. I prefer to calculate a rate that compensates for the lack of benefits, including time off and healthcare, as well as experience, so the compensation is commensurate to the quality and value of my work. For example, when I was accepted to the de Young Museum, I did raise prices a little bit as that was a big milestone! I finally felt I had catapulted into an art career.
In terms of an hourly breakdown for a 36” x 48” piece, it might be:
(optional) Mix colors (4-5 hours)
Prime (1 hour)
Paint (10-15 hours)
Add detail (1-2 hours)
(optional) Research (4-5 hours)
Varnish (1 hour)
Photograph & edit (1 hour)
List, update website and post write-up (1-2 hours)
(optional) Submit to open calls (4-5 hours)
Fees and More
After I finish my artworks, I varnish and photograph them. Post-editing production can take HOURS. I often get my works professionally photographed because of the textures. Then I spend more hours updating them on my website and marketing them through my social media accounts and newsletter. If there’s an open call I want to submit them to, I might spend hours writing up the proposal, especially if it requires an update to my bio and statement.
My work continues where most businesses begin, as they are not creating the products themselves. Costs like taxes, listing fees, copyright fees, packaging, framing, shipping & handling, insurance - they all become important additions to the price.
Do Artists Calculate The Price For Each Artwork?
Important: Most artists set their price based on experience and sales history. This has changed with social media, as artists, like most creative freelancers, can set based on the market as well as what their clientele is willing to pay. I set my prices based on what I’ve sold through galleries like Root Division. My residency there was instrumental in helping me get my artwork exposed to a greater audience. Please see below my note on working with galleries.
Most artists do lineal inch pricing, which is adding up the artwork (e.g., 36 + 48) and multiplying it by an x number. I generally try to list out all the costs as there are always some variables that are missed - for example, I have some small artworks that are quite expensive to frame and package because of their unique design.
I also have some smaller works that are experimental and I price lower (like my mycelium maps) because while they are not exactly reproducible, they are less time-intensive to make than my abstract paintings.
How Do Galleries Work?
Galleries take between 30-50% commission on artwork but there are numerous benefits to working with one - for example, ensuring that the work comes from an artist who has demonstrated mastery - and supporting the gallery or organization, as art galleries are not just window store displays for art (well, at least not the good ones).
Good galleries can really enhance the arts and artists’ careers by curating thoughtful exhibitions and installations, writing excellent press materials (this is a full-time job by itself) and cultivating relationships within the community that brings together collectors and artists. They also provide insurance and broker deals, all things that can get costly if artists can’t afford a lawyer.
Is It Rude To Ask For A Discount?
To be honest, I think it’s a sign that this person has not really done any research on my work, and that it’s a sign that this person will tire of any artwork within a few years. I once had a young woman once ask me about a BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free) offer. A quick Google search for fine art purchases will lead to online galleries like Artsy.net or Saatchi Gallery - all which have extensive articles, guidance and tips for first-time buyers.
Some galleries may offer a 10% collector’s discount, but that is at their discretion.
In the past, I would make a lot of exceptions for my friends but now that I paint professionally, I set limitations for myself because otherwise I would be giving the artwork away for free.
Note: Please do not ask artists for free advice about your art! If you are going to ask, please ask what is the artists’ consultation fee. Most artists are juggling more than one job and struggling to survive. And time taken away from art is time taken away from its quality - as art requires consistent physical and emotional focus for mastery.
Please understand that customer service is a plus, not a guarantee. Not all artists are full-time entrepreneurs. Many choose or prefer to work with galleries or consultants as sales and marketing may never be skillsets that they can develop or want to take on. I am fully aware that if I had the funds to do so, I would hire a team to cover all the skills I lack. This is where the distinction between a professional career and small business needs to be drawn - a career artist is ultimately a specialist, not a generalist.
How Do You Know Your Art Prices Are Fair?
You can have a conversation with the artist to find out more. For example, some artists source and make their own materials, which not only takes time but may be invaluable because that cultural practice is becoming extinct.
They might be research-driven, using traditional or historical context, methods or practice that cannot be replicated by anyone else. Or they may read and conceptualize many designs before making the final work.
I had a woman who told me my rate could be more affordable for a private art lesson even though it was about a little less than what most teachings artist get in California ($75/hr). I actually charged 2-3x this much from when I ran workshops at Facebook and Sony, which meant my total workshop costs ran around $3000 for 20+ people.
Note: Most team-building events are capped at $100/pp so when you have the opportunity to design a workshop budget for a large corporation, you can use this!
The chances are that if the artist has been working and exhibiting in the community regularly, they are being paid at this rate by others.
Consultants often urge not to price out of the market, but I think that number needs to be looked at with respect to all your costs and desired wages to guarantee basic living and comfort at the end of the day.
Think, for example, of all the times artists and creatives are asked to give up their time, work and labor for “exposure.” This is a predatory practice that pretends art and artistry is not an actual living.
Why Buy Art?
There’s the emotional fulfillment of buying art - knowing that no other work exists like it and that it comes from an artist whom you like and respect - as well as the aesthetic and long-term attributes, which is that the artwork may be formative to your household and passed down to your family.
As I create original archival-quality artworks, I intend them to last a lifetime (if not more). I love the idea of having my artwork exist for generations, hopefully inspiring children who grow up with original art in their homes to keep buying art and supporting artists. I find the bond between artist and collector special; I think of all my collectors as stewards of my artwork, carrying them into the future like torches of creativity.
Check out 8-bridges for an extensive list of Bay Area galleries to purchase from.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about art prices. If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.