"All Seeing"...Digital Drawing
But........In my defense, I have been pretty busy as of late working on commissions, which have to take priority, and...trying to keep up with social media which has gone nuts lately.
In one of the groups on Facebook that I am involved in, we recently had a great discussion on pricing artwork. I'm finding that pricing our art can be a real point of contention among artists.
It also seems to be a really common and widely discussed issue that sometimes feels like it's been beat to death so, I am going to try to look at the other side, the buyers or, public's side, of the pricing dilemma just to make this conversation less redundant and more interesting. I'm not going to go into my own , personal pricing formula. I think I have already done that in previous posts.
I find that unless your client or your typical buyer is an art connoisseur or collector, they sometimes don't understand how an artists pricing works. I can't blame them, they just don't know. I feel it's my job to educate them, not to feel attacked by them when they balk at my prices.
So here is how I see it..........First I will explain to them that the materials alone cost me a small fortune. I know they don't consider that, they don't think of it. They are not the ones buying it. Case in point....I once had an older gentleman approach me about a pastel painting I had in a show. He told me his wife had fallen in love with it and that he wanted to purchase it for her. He offered me $20.00. Without getting offended by his offer, I went on to explain to him that the cost of the materials I had used to create this piece were well over $20.00. I had had this piece professionally framed for the show and that had cost well over a hundred dollars just for that.
Next. I explained to him that this painting had taken me hours to create, weeks, and he told me he didn't realize that. In his mind, he just pictured me sitting down and whipping it out maybe in an hour or so. Seriously, this is what he thought, remember, he is not an artist, he just doesn't know. He had no idea what was involved in the artistic process. I went on to tell him that like anyone who works, my time is worth money. Many artists don't even make minimum wage!
And lastly........I mentioned that he would be paying for my skill. Just like paying any professional. After all, you wouldn't go to the doctor and expect him to operate on you skillfully, with the skills it took him years to learn, and then ask him or her to do it for $20.00 or even for free. Like any working professional, it takes years to gain artistic skills, sometimes a lifetime. Artists never stop learning new skills.
What I don't do is.....I don't get angry or offended. Now that's not to say that you won't meet up with someone who is just mean spirited and feels like they deserve your art for free. That
does happen. I know that it is their problem not mine. Sometimes you just can't reason with people like that so I don't try. I just walk away. The majority of people do understand if you take the time to educate them about it.
Well, that's it, my two cents worth. I will try to pick up the pace on these blog posts in the future. It's just a matter of getting my scheduling tweaked. So, stick to your guns. Price your artwork where you need it to be and leave it. Don't drop your price just to make a sale. Sales will happen you have to give it time. You work hard to create your art. You put a part of who you are into every piece. At the same time, be patient with your buyers. The fact that they even offered you $20.00 for your $500.00 dollar painting means they like your work. Have a great and productive week!
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