PRICING ART WORK

Pricing art is different from making art. Making art is about the individual personal creative process, experiences that come from within.  Pricing art for sale is about what's happening on the outside, in the real world where things are bought and sold for money, and where market forces dictate in large part how much those things are worth. 

Art prices are not pulled out of thin air. When you price your art, you must be able to show that your prices make sense, that they're fair and justified with respect to certain art criteria such as the depth of your resume, your previous sales history and the particulars of the market where you sell.

EVALUATE YOUR SITUATION

1.     Look at the history of selling your art and the price range. And the consistency of selling in this range.

2.     What is your level of experience?  How many years have you been working professionally as an artist.

3.    Where you have had shows, how many solo?  How many group?  

4.    Do you already have gallery representation?  If so, where?  Is the gallery is well known and in a large art or metropolitan area?  (The area where you show your art has a value.)

5.    Define your type of art. What kind of art do you make? What are its physical characteristics? In what ways is it similar to other art? How do you categorize it? If you paint abstracts, for example, what kind of abstracts, how would you describe them? This is the type of art you generally want to focus on for comparison purposes.

6.    Note similarities and differences of your art to others: ie., size, shape, medium, weight, subject matter, colors, the time it takes you to make it, when it was made, how long you've been making that type of art, how many you've made, who your audience is, and so on.

7.    Is your art light and decorative or is it soulful and serious as in meaning and philosophy?  In other words, what are you aspiring to do? 

8.    Does it appeal to a large number of people or only a few?

9.    Is the work easy to experience or hard, esoteric, inaccessible, idiosyncratic?

10.     How does your art relate to the context of art history and other masters?

11.     Do you sell locally, regionally, nationally or internationally?

Your job is to explore your art, your intentions, your goals, and get to know your market, keep an open mind, find similar art, find the artists who make it and have similar experience and qualifications to yours, and see what they charge for their art and why.

Hope this helps begin the process of pricing art.

Suzanne

If you have any questions, please email me below.

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TITLING ARTWORK

A title adds value to your artwork. A buyer wants to feel that he/she is about to purchase your best work ever. They are going to have a hard time believing this if the work is called “Untitled 397.” It can be a deal stopper or a turn off to a potential customer. Titles do matter to the art buyer!

I have found that a good title:

• Can provide insight into my inspiration or intention for the work

• Can help the artwork tell a story

• Can emphasize what I want the viewer to focus upon

• Can enhance the energy or mood of the painting

• Can add a poetic or metaphoric tone to the painting

• Can leave room for the viewer to bring his or her own meaning

• Can be memorable, original, and personal

In the case below, I chose words from Leonard Cohen, a poet and song writer.
Suzanne takes you down…..
40” x 30”
acrylic on canvas
2021

I chose the title because over many years I have had fond memories of being told I was a muse. I also love the song and wanted to honor Leonard Cohen so it was kind of a collaboration. The image itself felt like a soothing quiet spot where I imagined the spaciousness of creativity residing.

Suzanne

Feel free to connect me through the form below.

PREPARING FOR AN ART CRITIQUE

An art critique consists of 4 elements — describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating or judging.
Sounds scarey, Right? It is! But, art critiques are a valuable tool for improving my art so I prepare myself in the following ways.

1. I know myself and my art

2. I can describe my art, and my process of making a painting

3. I am able to say how I use the elements of art and the principles of art to expressive my intentions

4. I know my inspirations, my perspectives in my art and why it is important to me

5. I bring my open heart, my willingness to grow, my curiosity to learn and a readiness to hear without taking it personnally

6. I chose peers and mentors to critique my art who are compassionate, present, thoughtful and knowledgable and who want me to succeed

It takes time and contemplation and discernment to come prepared. It takes courage to show up and be present. Bbecause I am passionate about what I do, I give myself wholeheartedly to the process of learning, growing and expanding my inner and outer life in art.

If you are an artist, how do you prepare for an art critique?

If you have any questions or thoughts to share, I would love to hear from you by filling out the form below.

If you like my blog, please tell a friend…. they might like it too. A BIG THANK YOU! Suzanne

THE VALUE OF AN ART CRITIQUE

Art Critiques can be scarey. I believe this quote by H.G. Mewis explains the experience of the vulnerability and discomfort that is felt by artists as they put their art out into the world.

As artists work to improve they need to understand how theirr work is perceived by the viewer. They need more varied perspectives and they want to know their art’s implication and relation to the larger world. Regular art critiques by knowledgeable and trusted peers is an important part of development for artists.

Art critiques help artists to:

1. Establish their visual voice.

2. Find their Niche.

3. Work out the kinks.

4. Develop a thick skin

Check out my two very special online classes that will provide you and your art with support and the important review and perspective that will help expand and grow you and your work.

Abstract Art Independent Study
Abstract Art Support and Critique Group

I am also available for one-on-one online art critiques -
Mentoring with Suzanne

If you have any questions, fill out the form below. I will get back to quickly.