Pricing Paintings (Patreon)

How do you decide what price to put on your paintings when you want to sell them?

This is a question I have been asked multiple times over the past few years so here I will give you some food for thought.

I first started selling my paintings on Etsy back in 2011. At the time I had produced some small bird paintings on A5 and A4 size paper that I thought were worthy of being sold but I had no idea what to charge for them. So I searched on Etsy for watercolour paintings around that size that were similar quality to mine and I listed my paintings for a comparable price. That was about $75 if I remember correctly and that was for unframed paintings.

As my skills progressed and my paintings grew larger I started increasing the price. At the time, I was also working as a school teacher and I painted on weekends. I still had no clue as to what to charge for my paintings so I decided if I earned $300 a day working as a school teacher, then, if a painting took me a day to complete, I’d charge $300 (unframed) for my time. Many of them sold at that price so I was happy. 

These days, I don't sell many paintings because I am too busy making tutorials and I like to keep the paintings I make for the tutorials in case I need them as teaching resources. When I do sell a painting, I sell them for more than $300 because my skills have improved. I have also built a strong online presence so I can ask more for them now.

Determining the appropriate price for your artwork can be a challenging task so here are a few tips that I found while I was researching this topic.

1.  Compare. Do what I did on Etsy. Look at the prices that other artists are charging that have a similar style of painting to you and price yours accordingly. When you do that, make sure the other artists are actually selling their paintings. Etsy is a good place to start looking but also look on artist’s websites if they have one.

2.  Dip your toe in the water. Experiment with different price levels. If nobody is interested in your paintings then perhaps your price is too high. The reverse is also true, if your painting sells really quickly then the price may have been too low. Having said that, it’s probably best to not be in a situation where you have to lower your sale price so make sure you do your homework first (see step 1).

3.  Seek professional help. Take your paintings to a gallery or an art evaluator and ask them what they think they might be worth. If you are working with a gallery they typically take a commission of between 35% to 50% of the sale price. Galleries also have a specific type of clientele and price range which might not line up with your own pricing plan.

4.  You should also take into account your:

·  Production costs; How much did it cost you to produce the painting? How much was the paper, the paint, the gummed tape etc. Is the painting framed? If it is then the cost of the frame must be included in the price you sell it for.

·  Labour cost; Determine your hourly rate. How much is your time worth?

·  Business costs; Do you spend anything on advertising, studio rental costs etc

·  Taxes; Do you need to collect sale taxes?

It’s difficult to determine an exact formula that will help you work out what to charge for your paintings because it really is trial and error. Consider your skill level, how unique your work is and the quality of your work. Believe in yourself, keep working on improving your skills and don’t be afraid to ask for what you are worth.

Please add your thoughts in the messages below so we can learn from each other.