Posted by Dave Gilder 16th 2007 August
Categories: Art & Design
I wonder how you all come up with a price for your work? What criteria do you use & at what point do you consider yourselves professional artists?
Posted by Dave Gilder 16th 2007 August
Categories: Art & Design
I wonder how you all come up with a price for your work? What criteria do you use & at what point do you consider yourselves professional artists?
August 20th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I do not consider myself a professional artist ( because my living income is not totally dependent on my art)
Obviously I want to sell and make some money/recoup costs.
I am surprised at the costings in the market of art pieces the good ,the bad and the ugly.
There never will be to be a level playing field.
I will be in an exhibition in October and the prices will be all over the place. Some are prolific painters and have a lot to”shift2 some painter do large works so storage a problem. One of our artists does these amazing icon for ridiculously cheap prices for the work involved and the skill.
I know when I sold my book recently at the Christian resource exhibition I decided to reduce the price to make the book more appealing and I SOLD!! Pricing is a balancing act for everyone!!
Cheers
August 20th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
What was the book about and what was it called
August 20th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Hi Dave
It is called “Words that rock your soul!!!!”
It is a spiritual journey in poetry/parable style. It is NOT a soft book it is confrontational,evangelistic and comforting and healing!!!!
You meet various people and yourself. perhaps not always in a friendly light. You meet GOD and JESUS in a powerful and moving way too.
I have been blessed to find out that David Aldous the radio/tv presenter uses it in ministry!!!
It can be used by small group,drama,worship,prayer,healing,evangelism and more.
Go to my web site
www.wordsthatrockyoursoul.co.uk
and take a peak!
PS cheaper bought direct from me!!!!!
ADVERT OVER!!!
Ha Ha
August 20th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Ps if anyone want tips in publishing let me know or see link on my site.
www.wordsthatrockyoursoul.co.uk
Cheers Susan
November 17th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
shoshona,
I would advise you to market a book by comparing it to other similiar books in your market place. In this way, you can benefit from marketing experts who have already made decisions about prices that appeal to those who purchase books where you live.
Dave,
Pricing artworks can be more difficult. There are so many factors that influence the sale of an art work like:
a.) How long have you been painting? Your experience counts! A well educated painter with many years of experience under his belt, should bring higher prices for his/her work.
b.) How many paintings do you paint within a year? If you paint very detailed work, that takes many hours to complete, the price of your work should be higher. It does no good to sell this type of work for less. If you can’t sell it right away, create print for less money.
c.) Who are you selling your artwork to? If you are marketing to lower income peoples, there will be a level of expendable income.
d.) Have you already shown the artwork in question in an exhibit? Art work that has already been “shown” sometimes sells for less, depending on the city and community.
e.) What is the subject or theme of the artwork in question? This is perhaps one of the most important selling points.
d.) The “way” in which clients sees you also influences sales. People are very strange about this. It can destroy an artist or “make one.” It is my least favorite issue to deal with but, there it is.
Can anyone think of any other points that might influence the marketing of artworks? These points are the ones that I can think of right away; I’m sure there have to be others.
I think most people consider artists professional once they begin to make consistant sales. I do not believe in this personaly. I have known many wonderfully talented artists who can’t make a dime to save their lives! And, I have also known horrible painters who make a good income, enough to feed their children with. I guess in the end, you must pursue art because of passion and struggle to care for yourself and family by other means.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Thanks Kathy that was most helpful
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Kathy I found what you wrote very helpful and insightful. One thing that struck me that I wanted more clarification on was you point d. do you mean how people view you based on the way you present yourself and your work? Or just your professional standing as an artist?
It does seem that people are less interested in the work itself but the actual artists standing in the ‘art world’.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Oh, I mean f.), on that one. Well this unfortunate point that should not be used against or for artists, but does not seem to be avoidable, has two sides.
If you do not ordinarily make money from the sales of your work and patrons find this out, you may have difficulty convincing them to buy your work for a respectable sum of money. This is because people often rely on the opinions of business men or gallery agents to predetermine the value of an artist’s work. Art sales often depend on whether or not someone has sold your work successfully before. Call this laziness, call this fear, call this uneducated, but whatever you may call it, it happens.
There are also other unfortunate factors at work here. Like your gender, for instance. In America, women artists consistently make less money for their artworks than their male counterparts. This is an excepted norm. Even women gallery owners will price artwork by a woman lower because of her gender. I don’t bother to fight this, I know that I can’t win. (I used to try and protest it but I got old and tired.)
The “way” in which you dress at an opening can harm your sells during an exhibit. People expect you to dress a little flamboyant because they stero-type artists and they want a good “show.” If you appear to normal, people think there is something wrong with you. Serious artists don’t have time for this kind of ridiculous stuff, but people do expect to see it.
Well the list goes on and on. Just be yourself and let the chips fall, I think. You can’t be a puppet and produce sincere work at the same time. And, never let any of this convince you to quit. God makes all of His children to be something wonderful appart from the opinions of art agents and art critics!