Hayabusa Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Ive been to the odd show, and Ive seen people's work online (famous people, writers, not so famous people, etc) The one thing that always strikes me is how expensive EVERYONE`s work is! I think I saw a Reyes painting (not super dope I might add) going for like 1300$! The fuck? How does that work exactly? How do some of you guys decide how much your pieces are worth? Or is it more so that these artists just love their work so much that they wish no one would buy it? Or do art lovers hate buying cheap work? I don't understand at all. Im finnin to sell shit at a low price and make millions by lowballing everyone Discuss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojangles Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Don't forget, the galleries take 35-40% of that. A lot of artists price by size and time to paint. I price mostly by size but add in how much I like the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__ __ __ __ Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 you are selling your ideas and skills. in my opinion a lot of art is too cheap for the rich. I t depends on your audience, time spent, materials used/cost. think, do you want to charge $9/hr for being a professional artist or $30? if you dont do it, the next guy will and his shit wont look as good. everyone has the political view on pricing and all that but hey, you gotta eat and live life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindle Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 i went to a gallery show and it was one of those artists who has been around for ages but created no buzz. she had been to all these fancy schools and univsersities and had shows here and there and done this and that but her canvases were fucking garbage. she was chrging 6 grand for big canvases. kind of makes me think if people will pay that much for garbage i should be able to make some scratch off some halfway good shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shai Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 If you really want your mind blown, go to a silent auction sometime. I used to charge around $15/hr plus materials, which seemed fair. Then I donated some stuff I had laying around the studio to a community space in SF for a silent auction...a couple of screen prints I did on glass sold for $75 each, and one of my messenger bags sold for $180 (to the VP of Timbuk2, no less). Two of my friends saw their paintings go for $300 and $700. If people want your work they'll pay for it. A good rule of thumb is to figure out your time and materials cost, then double that...you can always go down in price, but never up. Or you can go through a rep/gallery but like Bo said you're handing over at least a third of the gross to the middleman. However, if they're selling a lot of your work it might be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayabusa Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 you all bring up very good points thanks for replying I guess Im just super critical of the work I put out since I know whats wrong in them and what I dont like, that the idea of pricing anything I do really high is sort of off putting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffie crave 7 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 if someone really likes something then they are going to pay whatever to get it, if they have the money. but...put the ''art'' aside for a second and don't forget about these 2 things ''supple and demand'' and ''hype'' if you can have a hype or craze behind your work like being someone famous, people are willing to pay more...and also not having a huge supple helps too. dont forget besides art being well art its also a huge business. my advice to you is aim HIGH price your stuff high but not too high you wanna look like you got your shit together but you dont wanna price stuff too high cus then you will look like you are only trying to look like you got your shit together. AKA fool the rich. This brings me to my next convo, i LOVE art and i also like to collect but it is impossible to get somethings im interested in because of price. Rich people that have money like to have nice things and they also like to have things that no one has or can get so they buy art work not really mabye being into art or understanding what they just bought, but buying it only becuase of what i talked about above... ''hype'' and ''supple and demand'' They are able to be like...ohh yeh i own that or one of thos... leaving the real art lovers like myself that isnt a ceo of some company to only wish. I love it when i see wanna be art collectors buy FAKE stuff, and they have a 25 year old kid with shitty tattoos explane what they just bought. I got a little off subject but thats pretty much how the art world works, but as for pricing your work aim a little high, we all gotta eat. but just dont forget about your true broke fans and dont over charge them ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojangles Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 but just dont forget about your true broke fans and dont over charge them ! Good point. I've built up a bit of a name in my region and DO make some scrilla by those who have it to blow, but I also make sure to give quality pieces still at a reasonable price to those that are interested in my work with limited funds. Sort of a sliding pay scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortFuse Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Glad this thing was brought up because Ive always wondered. Ive understood the whole idea behind it all but still question it every now and then. There were two popular artists from my area that were writers at one time and they would do shows here and there. Ive always like their stuff and some small stuff like ummm 1 1/2 by 3 ft went for 200 and I think that as a lover of their work I would of paid it. Larger stuff went pretty high but always somewhat reasonable. I think Id be pretty cheap but reasonable the first time, if I had a show. Im usually pretty humble and a reasonable person, but everyone has to make money to survive. Recently I did a business sign worth 75 but let it go for 45. Only because we didnt agree at first and I didnt realize how cheap the people in the area can be (new to the area). I was just irritated and wanted him out of my house. I would of fought for more but the guy provided business to my father so I didnt want to damage that, plus Im without a job till February and I needed money (he didnt know that). Still bothers me. Oh well I know my work was good and the guy was cheap....plus he thought he could get the whole discount because he knew my father...The guy was cheap but if anyone asks about the sign hes honest enough to say who did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacks Edwards Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Ive been to the odd show, and Ive seen people's work online (famous people, writers, not so famous people, etc) The one thing that always strikes me is how expensive EVERYONE`s work is! I think I saw a Reyes painting (not super dope I might add) going for like 1300$! The fuck? How does that work exactly? How do some of you guys decide how much your pieces are worth? Or is it more so that these artists just love their work so much that they wish no one would buy it? Or do art lovers hate buying cheap work? I don't understand at all. Im finnin to sell shit at a low price and make millions by lowballing everyone Discuss... Part of my problem is that I get attached to some of my works, and do'nt want to sell them. But now that I really need the cash, my attitude quickly changed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindle Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 i had lots of my canvas' in a school gallery thing that had local artists as well as students. this lady who saw my photographs at a media exhibition came to see my paintings, found one she liked and approached me about it she said "how much would you charge for that one" i was pretty shocked because i had not prepared for this at all. it was a long canvas so i said "uh, 75 bucks?" she was siked and bought it the next day. later i go to my friends house who is older and at an arts university and he shows me some canvas', he shows me one the same size as mine and says he charges 500...i felt poor, but at the same time i felt rich because this lady has something i painted hanging in her house with no prior affiliation to me. that and the fact that her daughter is hot as fuck made me feel happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabloid- Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 for 90% of us down here in the trenches we generally price work by the hour, then add a 40% gallery fee. The hourly rate I price paintings at is double my commercial design rate. When you start talking about blue chip artists like Barry McGee, Ryan McGinley, Dana Schutz, who are selling work in the 5-6 figure range it's more like commodity trading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feed Yer Ego Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 do retarded shit to catch a big buzz with a stupid moniker then start a rumor that you're dead. and died in some really ridiculous way. proceed to price however high you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan W Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 Industry Model and Talents Studios I'm looking to buy art for my office. I want it to look wild! Wh are some good artists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armand hammer Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 best thing to do is sell your ish online hayabusa no gallery fees and you can throw in some extra charges for shipping..seems scammy but it is something you worked hard on(nh) and if someone really wants it and will appreciate it then they will pay for it. i also tend to have a lot of trouble when it comes to pricing im always being told charge more etc..but im just like well i dont really care for the money as such it would be good but i enjoyed painting it i progressed and im not in this to make money if i was id be shitting out prints of dead movie stars by the boat load. hope it kind of helps especially with your work , also start working big man it may take a lil longer but youll be so pumped after your done youll just start something new right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis and Clark Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 i also tend to have a lot of trouble when it comes to pricing im always being told charge more etc... Right? all of my friends and people i work with through galleries say, charge more you'll get it! and i do and then i dont sell anything.. ive had shows where i charge bare minimum and sell a bunch of shit and shows where its regularly priced and i sell 1-2 things.. hype, crowd, show, piece - all factors i go by materials + how much i like it. I figure starting out you cannot charge and hourly fee, plus half the time i get to do art at my job so im already making cash while making art. online through your own website selling prints/ originals seems a nice easy way to make some extra cash (im not set up in this yet, so could be wrong) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.