Member-only story
Are You Selling Yourself Short?
The Temptation is Real
You’re an artist and you want to sell some of your work. But how do you price your work? The temptation is to price low so that you get sales. A sale is better than no sale, right? True, but selling yourself short not only devalues you, but your work as well. Don’t sell yourself short! I get it. Trust me. I really do.
The average person has no idea what artwork sells for and most of the time is blown away if you price your work for its true value. I’ve had people ask me how much I would charge to do an 8”x10” portrait (the smallest size I offer) of their pet and then nearly choke when I tell them the price. Others don’t even bat an eye and more often than not tell me that I should be charging more. The way I see it, the ones whose jaws hit the floor at the price are the ones that are clueless about how much good art sells for. I’m sorry, but if you expect me to sell a photorealistic pencil rendering for $25 or $50, you’re sorely mistaken.
First of all, an 8”x10” portrait takes me anywhere from 36–48 hours. Let’s say I charge purely by the hour. If I charge a client $50 for the portrait, I’d only be making $1.04 per hour. I might as well do the work for free. Talk about selling yourself short!
Secondly, I’m doing something that not everyone can do. I’m an artist. I have a…
