Pricing your paintings?




I do understand your need to price your paintings.
But if you have been in this business for only a few years, then I believe the question should be,
“ How do I get my paintings onto the walls of strangers at a price that we both can be happy with?”
I really believe that price in the beginning of your Art career should be that you recover your costs and sell your paintings.
Now I know I will get lots of comments saying I want Artists to give away their paintings, but I do not.
I want Artists to build a sustainable business from their Art so that it will support them into the future.
Art is like any small business starting up, it will take a few years to make any money, so the idea is to build your business so that it will make money in the future.
Sell at a price in the beginning that gives good value to the buyer and yourself.
Do not give them away but also do not price them like you are mature seasoned Artist.
So how do I do that?
Think about this, you need to build a following and a reputation as an Artist among strangers.
You need to put your paintings on the walls of these strangers at a price that you are both happy with.
Remembering that you will increase your prices as the years go by and your reputation grows and these strangers become your collectors and friends.
If we could get past the romance of being an Artist and selling our work for big money, we would then understand that it takes time and patience and hard work to build an Art business.
The painting you are selling today for $100 in five years you could be selling for $1000, same size, same Artist, same talent, the only difference is that you have built your Artistic reputation and Art business and you now have a group of collectors who invest in your art work and your collector base is continually growing.
I want Artists to do well from their art, it takes time, it takes hard work and it takes a sales strategy, start reasonable and build on your prices each year.
The key to surviving as an Artist is regular sales and getting your paintings onto the walls of strangers.



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