http://LloydDobsonArtist.com Art Pricing - What Should I Price My Art? This is a question that I am ask many times. In order to price your art realistically, you must understand and respect how the art business works and how collectors shop and buy. You must also objectively assess your art world accomplishments and determine how they position you in relation to all other artists. These are difficult tasks and not necessarily pleasant; but they're absolutely essential to achieving the goals of making a go of it as an artist and of selling art. Understanding common mistakes that artists make when setting prices is the first step in this process. Perhaps the most significant error is the tendency to focus too much attention on only that segment of the art world that pertains to you and too little attention on the rest, or even worse, dismissing the rest as irrelevant. If you let this happen, your asking prices may make sense to you and to your inner circle, but make little sense to the overall art community. Here is a typical question: "I am thinking of having prints made of some of my watercolor paintings and selling them on sites like Etsy. I’m not sure how to go about having prints made, as far as making it profitable. Any suggestions?" This is a great question. Pricing is really tough, but you can figure it out! Here are a few things to consider: 1) Costs - You need to make back what you spent in making the art. This can include fixed costs like your office space, lighting, heating, etc. These costs must be spread out among the number of pieces you plan to sell on a monthly basis. For example, if your studio and rent together cost $1000 per month, and you plan on selling 10 prints per month, then you have $100 in costs for each print, before you ever count anything else. If you think you can sell 20 prints each month, then it’s only $50 per print. Then there are your costs per painting, or variable costs. This includes your canvas, brushes, the paint you used, and the time you spent (yes, your time is a cost, unless you are working for free) and the cost of the prints. These will vary based on how much paint you use, how big the canvas is, etc. These will be calculated on an individual painting basis.

1. Art Pricing - What
Should I Price My Art?
By Lloyd Dobson

2. In order to price your art
realistically, you must understand
and respect how the art business
works and how collectors shop
and buy. You must also objectively
assess your art world
accomplishments and determine
how they position you in relation
to all other artists.

3. These are difficult tasks and
not necessarily pleasant; but
they're absolutely essential to
achieving the goals of making
a go of it as an artist and of
selling art.

4. Many artists make the mistake of
equating dollar values with
psychological factors like how
emotionally attached they are to
their art or how much anguish
they experience during the
creative process.

5. They place special meanings and,
therefore, special asking prices
on certain pieces of their work
that may make sense to them
inwardly, but have little or no
relation to the selling prices of
the rest of their art or to art prices
in general.

6. Don't make the mistake of
thinking that your art is so unique
that nothing else compares to it.
All art is unique. Every artist is
unique. Uniqueness, however, has
never been and never will be the
sole criterion for setting prices at
any particular level.

7. Here is a typical question: "I am
thinking of having prints made of
some of my watercolor paintings
and selling them on sites like
Etsy. I’m not sure how to go about
having prints made, as far as
making it profitable. Any
suggestions?"

8. Okay Guys & Gals I Must
Apologize To You As I Have Run
Out Of Time. So With That Said
Go To My Website/Blog & I Will
Go Into More Detail
www.LloydDobsonArtist.com

9. www.LloydDobsonArtist.com

10. “Remember It Is Not
What You Know, But
What You Do With
What You Know!”
www.LloydDobsonArtist.com