Get Paid What You're Worth as an Artist
What does it take to make a living as an artist? We have a
couple of alternatives; we can create hundreds of works of art
and sell our work just for the sake of selling. We often find
we're exhausted and financially in the hole. "I Love Lucy" had
an episode where she was making salad dressing. She said she was
losing three cents a jar but she would make it up in volume. Do
you want to always be behind the eight ball or are you willing
to position yourself to get paid what your worth?
How do we attach value to our work? We can break it down in
simple numerical terms; how much did our materials cost, factor
in some rent if your working in a studio, some utilities
wherever your working, and your time. If you decided what you'd
like to make per hour you'll need to keep track of how long the
work takes to create. When you crunch the numbers you'll come up
with a value that might work for you but there are other ways.
It's important that we do some market research. What are other
artists in the same medium/genre charging for their work? The
internet has made it easy to search artist's personal galleries
and often they will price their work online. This research will
give you a starting point.
One of the advantages of belonging to artist professional
organizations is that they will often conduct surveys of their
members and there is usually a category connected to annual
income and specifics about average price for work. Once you have
a ballpark figure you can use other factors to come up with your
pricing structure. Consider how long you've been creating art.
Take into account the recognition you've received through shows,
juried competitions and media coverage. One factor that you need
to consider is how fast your pieces are selling, if they fly off
the walls it's time to raise your prices. I know that sounds
counterintuitive but there is a method to the madness.
Over the past few years I have become more particular about
where I exhibit my work. I've become selective when exhibiting
because I only want to exhibit in shows where the other artists
are willing to price their work in a fashion that honors the
blood, sweat and tears it took to create the piece. Exhibiting
in that atmosphere immediately raises the bar for me
professionally and raises my self-confidence. I'm always looking
to play in a bigger pond. If we want to get better, then we need
to play with people who are ahead of us on the journey.
Learn from those who have struggled with the issues of
maintaining sustainable businesses. Ask questions when you go to
shows. Enroll in workshops designed to assist artists in
creating thriving businesses. Use the trial and error method,
and evaluate the outcome after each show/performance. Be
conscious of your desire to survive and thrive as an artist and
price your work accordingly.