Mar 11, 20223 min read

Art Biz - Pricing

Hello!

I have been meaning to write this post for AAAAAGES! It is always in the back of my mind.

It is Friday art biz day so the time is now.

Selling artworks means all sorts of reactions to my pricing. Some people don't bat and eye lid and some balk.

I thought I would write a blog to let you in on some of the behind the scenes of my art business so you can get a better idea of what goes into it and why I price my art the way I do.

Most of you know I have a day job two days a week, 3 kids to juggle as well as teaching after school art classes and other one off classes.

The bulk of my business earnings are through classes. I love my teaching job. I count myself lucky to have the best students. They are my extended family.

My absolute passion is painting. It is my me time that doesn't involve anyone else. It is my time to experiment, play and tap into the magic inside. It gives me time to forget everything and tune into my thoughts.

Painting is my drug of choice.

At the end of a painting, I often surprise myself and think shit!, where did that come from? I don't usually set out with an idea in mind, it just pours out of me if I let it. it feels soooo good!

When I first started selling my art, I grossly undercharged myself. I would charge $80 for an A3 artwork that took me 5-8 hours to create along with having to put it out there online and sell it, not to mention the materials. It equated to under $10 and hour.

All I really want to do is paint but being a small business owner, I have had to learn to put on many hats:

photographer
copy writer
blogger
accountant
graphic designer
sales person
website designer
social media aficionado
marketing
student
stats reporter/tracker
business planner/reviwer

I put this together which I thought might help you to understand a little more:

It is actually hours and hours of work on top of creating the artwork itself.

Luckily I love this stuff and I look at all of it in a creative way.

I got to create my website and upkeep it which is creative.
Canva is a graphic design app which I used to create the image above. I could literally play on this app all day. It is so much fun.
I get to write creatively when I write my posts, blogs and newsletters.
I get to be creative when I create staged images of my art on walls with the Canvy app.
I get to be a part of an amazing group of creatives on Bluethumb and their Facebook page helping my art to be seen all over the world.
I get to build beautiful relationships with creatives all over the world on Instagram.
I get to be creative with photographing my art in my garden.
I get to study art and business.
I get to create my art as useable and wearable art on Redbubble.
I get to build relationships with local businesses
I get to track my stats in my accounting program and Planning Posse business planner.

It really is a lot of work!

I try to work smart not hard. I could quite happily work all night on my business but I don't want to burn out and ignore my family.

This year I am writing down all my procedures to make things quicker and eventually I hope to pass some of these tasks on to a VA (Virtual Assistant).

I am getting better at planning big things like newsletters and blogs instead of flying by the seat of my pants or leaving too long between them.

My aim is to be consistent.

Now that I have been doing this a while, I know what I want, I know what I want to achieve, I know my worth.

I think my art is very fairly priced.

Lastly, I thought I would add a little update on how I am going for March.

Boy I love checking off those boxes!