Jan 26 - Pricing Your Artwork

Pricing artwork can be one of the most challenging tasks for artists, especially when balancing artistic value with market demand. It’s important to price your art fairly while ensuring you’re compensated adequately for your time, skills, and materials. Below is a guide on how to approach pricing your artwork, considering various factors that influence price decisions.


1. Understand Your Costs
Before anything else, you must identify all the costs associated with creating your artwork. These include:

• Materials: Calculate the cost of canvases, paints, brushes, frames, etc. For digital artists, this could include software and hardware costs.
• Studio Rent: If you rent a studio space, divide the monthly cost by the number of pieces you create per month to assign a portion of the rent to each artwork.
• Time: Keep track of the hours spent on each piece. Decide on an hourly rate for your labor based on your level of experience, skill, and market.
• Shipping/Presentation: If your work involves additional costs for framing, packaging, or shipping, factor these into the price.

2. Research the Market
Look at the broader art market, especially artists whose work is similar in style, medium, or size to yours. Observe the following:

• Comparable Artists: Study what other artists at your level charge for their pieces. This helps you understand what buyers are willing to pay for similar art.
• Art Galleries: If you sell your work through galleries, check their pricing structures. Most galleries take a commission (usually 30%-50%), so account for this when setting prices.
• Art Fairs and Online Marketplaces: Look at prices for similar works on online platforms (e.g., Etsy, Saatchi Art) and art fairs to see the range buyers are accustomed to.

3. Consider Your Experience and Brand
Your pricing should reflect your level of expertise and the demand for your work. If you’re an emerging artist, your prices will naturally be lower than those of an established artist with a strong reputation and collector base.

• Emerging Artists: If you are new to the art market, it’s okay to price your work affordably to build a collector base and increase visibility. However, don’t underprice to the point where you undervalue your work.
• Established Artists: Artists with more experience, an extensive portfolio, and a strong following can price their work higher. Consistency in sales, reviews, and demand can drive higher prices.

4. Factor in Size and Medium
The size and medium of the artwork play a significant role in pricing. A larger painting generally commands a higher price than a smaller one due to the time, effort, and materials involved. Similarly, different mediums (oil, acrylic, digital, etc.) may justify varying price points.

• Size-Based Pricing: Some artists use a per-square-inch or per-square-foot method to price their work. This creates consistency and ensures larger pieces are priced appropriately.
  • Example: If you charge $2 per square inch, a 16x20 canvas would cost $640 (16 x 20 = 320 square inches x $2).
• Medium: Certain mediums, like oil painting, may be priced higher than, say, watercolor or digital work because of the material costs and time involved. Similarly, works on paper might be priced lower than those on canvas.

5. Set a Consistent Pricing Structure
Consistency in pricing is crucial, both for your credibility and for establishing long-term relationships with buyers. Your pricing should reflect not only the costs involved but also the perceived value of your work.

• Avoid Drastic Price Fluctuations: A consistent pricing strategy helps build trust. If you regularly change prices drastically, it might confuse or alienate potential buyers.
• Offer a Range: To attract different buyers, offer a variety of price points. For example, you might sell small prints at a lower cost, while original works fetch a premium price.

6. Understand Your Audience
Know who your buyers are and what they are willing to pay. If your audience consists of collectors and art investors, you might price your work higher than if you are targeting everyday consumers or first-time art buyers.

• Target Market: Who buys your art? Are they gallery-goers, online buyers, or local community members? Adjust your pricing based on who you are targeting and their buying power.
• Collector Mindset: For art aimed at collectors or galleries, the artwork's long-term value might factor into pricing. Collectors are often willing to pay more for pieces they believe will appreciate in value.

7. Factor in the Gallery Commission
If you are selling through galleries, account for their commission in your pricing structure. Most galleries take 30%-50% of the sale price, which can significantly affect your income if not properly accounted for.

• Adjusting Prices for Gallery Sales: For instance, if you typically sell a painting for $1,000 independently, and a gallery takes a 40% commission, the price of that painting at the gallery should be around $1,666 to ensure you still receive $1,000 after commission.

8. Evaluate the Value of Your Work
Art is more than just a product—it's a form of expression. This subjective value can be influenced by many factors:

• Uniqueness: If your work is one-of-a-kind or features a rare technique or concept, it may justify a higher price.
• Provenance and Reputation: Artists with significant exhibition history, awards, or media coverage can price their works higher due to their established reputation.
• Demand: If your work has generated significant interest, be mindful of increasing demand. High demand can justify incremental price increases over time.

9. Consider Offering Limited Editions
For digital or print-based work, limited edition prints can be a valuable way to maintain exclusivity while reaching more buyers at various price points. Limited editions typically sell for more than open editions due to their scarcity.


10. Be Open to Price Adjustments
Art markets are constantly evolving, and it's essential to stay adaptable. If your work isn't selling at your desired price, it may be time to reevaluate. Conversely, if demand increases, you can slowly adjust prices upwards.

• Raising Prices Gradually: If you’ve had multiple sales, particularly at full price, it might be time to raise your prices slightly. Gradual increases over time are less likely to scare off potential buyers than abrupt price hikes.

Best Practices
If you’re new to the market, the following are some basic pricing principles and methods for you to consider when getting started.


Tip 1 - Price your art like a retailer—at two times the cost of materials.

A common practice for new artists is to establish prices based on time, labor, and the cost of materials. Set yourself a reasonable hourly wage, multiply that by the number of hours it took to make the work and add that figure to the cost of your materials. For example, if the cost of materials is $50, your hourly rate is $20, and you spent 20 hours creating your art, then your work would be priced at ($50 x 2) + ($20 x 20) = $500.


Tip 2 - Be consistent in your pricing across channels
If you are selling one work in multiple channels e.g. brick and mortar galleries, other online marketplaces or a personal artist website or social media account, make sure its price is consistent everywhere. 


Similarly, be consistent about pricing works within your portfolio--for example, your larger works should be consistently priced higher than your smaller works. A consistent pattern should be established by yourself when selecting pricing. 


Tip 3 - Broaden your appeal by offering works at various price points.
If someone likes your work but can't afford a $3,000 painting, they will find a $500 painting more attainable. You can always increase your prices after you have made some sales and have factual evidence to justify a price increase. Keep records of all your sales and the prices at which you've sold works. Remember that it's much better to competitively price than to have your work sit unsold.


Best practices is to include different price points. Example: I have a large mural I sell for a much higher cost then my normal 20x30 paintings. I always have one higher priced item so clients feel good about purchasing the mid-range price of $5000. I offer smaller pieces at $1200. Its also useful to offer merchandise & prints for customers that can't afford your original work just yet. You never know who will come back later on and purchase a original piece of your work.


Pricing your artwork is a blend of art and business. It's about balancing the intrinsic value of your creation with the realities of the art market, costs, and your brand as an artist. By thoroughly understanding your costs, researching the market, and evaluating your audience, you can develop a fair and consistent pricing strategy that honors both your work and its value to others.
While pricing may feel challenging at first, over time, with careful observation and experience, you’ll develop a system that works for you, allows you to grow, and ensures your art is accessible to your audience without undervaluing your craft.


To see a example of pricing go to: https://www.artist-dana.com/commission.html


Today, after you have thought about your pricing record what your pricing will be in your Project Book.

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