Artist Myth #3: Money is the Root of All Evil

Pricing Appropriately

The best way to find an appropriate price for your work is to compare your own work to others whose work is similar to yours. Once I began researching the market for my whimsical body of visual art, I learned immediately where my art fell within the price range. I was also surprised to discover that I was limited in how much I could ask others to pay, despite the size of a particular piece or where I was in my career. One of the artists who I was constantly compared to at the time was Brain Andreas. When I visited his website it was obvious that whimsical work just doesn’t have the same perceived value as more serious work. In reality, there is only so much someone will pay for a painting of a very cartoon-like dog sitting at a table in Starbucks drinking a cup of coffee. 

The easiest way to begin your search for an appropriate price range is on-line. No matter what your medium is, you’ll be able to get a sense of what others are charging for similar work. As you browse, begin to shape the formula for your prices not only on your artistic credentials, but also all of the following:

·        Size or length of item/production/service

·        Cost of item/production/service

·        Time involved to create item/production/service

·        Previous Sales History

·        The cost of similar item/production/service

·        The location of the venue where the item/production/service is sold

·        Fees involved in running your business, rent, utilities, etc.