How to Price Your Artwork

One of the most challenging issues that artists have to deal with is how to determine the price to sell their artwork.

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If you are finding yourself struggling with how to price your art in a way that is fair and you can still make a profit, then you will find this article very helpful. 

In this article, we are going to give you tips to help you price your artwork accordingly. Let’s delve into them.

1. Research your market

First things first, before anything else, you need to research your market before you sell your artwork online or anywhere else. Are you planning to sell your artwork locally, nationally, or internationally? Depending on where you are planning to sell your artwork, you need to do thorough research to help you figure how to price your art accordingly. 

While doing your research, take notes on different sizes, mediums, and subject matter to see the average prices in the market. If you can’t access galleries, then you can check online for sites, such as Artspace, Saatchi, or any other similar website to see prices for artwork that is almost similar to yours. You will come across some artwork that is too cheap or too expensive. The best thing would be to average out the prices until you get to the one you are comfortable with and can use for your work. 

If you are selling your artwork through a gallery, that’s totally different from selling your artwork directly to a collector or buyer.  You can take a look at other artists selling similar work like yours and come up with a price that falls in the same range as theirs. 

2. Include the cost of the materials you have used

While it is quite hard to calculate exactly how much paint, charcoal, or clay you have used to make your artwork, it is still a good idea to keep in mind roughly how much you are spending on supplies. This will help you include these expenses into your final price of the artwork. 

The cost of materials is a very important factor to consider when determining the price of your artwork. Additionally, it is important, especially when you are just starting out and your prices are low. Lastly, don’t forget to include the costs of shipping supplies, such as tape or bubble wrap. These costs should never be ignored because they can really add up quickly, and make the cost of making an artwork very expensive. 

3. Keep track of time

Making an artwork involves so many things. It requires time and effort to produce a beautiful piece. While buyers usually aren’t interested in the time it took to make the artwork, artists still need to consider the amount of time it took them to make the work when determining the price to sell their artwork online platform. 

An artwork that has taken hours to produce is more likely to cost more than a simple artwork that has taken only a few hours to produce. When you are producing artwork, you need to take note of the number of hours you have worked on it. Getting paid handsomely for the time and effort you have put on producing an artwork can feel very rewarding.

4. Come up with the price

Finally, it is time to come up with prices for all your work. Put different prices for each size, i.e., larger artwork should cost more. Also, you should sell different mediums at different price points. For instance, your watercolors shouldn’t cost the same as oil paintings. However, you should stay consistent with your pricing so that your collectors or buyers do not feel cheated.