Consistent pricing is key for successful art sales. But, how do you put a price on your efforts and artwork? How practice you lot make up one's mind on a logical approach?

The all-time solution for many artists is to select a pricing formula that works well for your art form and is a good fit for the stage of your career. A formula tin simplify your life, plus makes information technology easier to explain your prices to potential buyers.

Consider ane of these 3 straightforward formulas for pricing your work:

FORMULA 1: Square Inch × Dollar Amount

Artist Daily correspondent and professional creative person, Lori Woodward multiplies the size of her painting - in square inches - by an appropriate dollar amount. Art consultant Maria Brophy and her married man, creative person Drew Brophy, use Lori'due south technique to toll his work. To become the square inches of a painting, multiply the width of the piece of work by the length. Side by side, multiply this number by a dollar amount that makes sense for your reputation and credentials. And so circular to the nearest hundred. Finally, double the price of your materials and add it to the square inch dollar amount. This accounts for the 50% commission galleries usually take to sell your work. But, if yous don't sell from galleries, don't account for gallery commission.

Emerging artists should consider pricing their art at more affordable rates, while established artists can accuse higher rates. Lori charges $6 per square inch. She started off with a $two-$3 range when she was selling at outdoor fine art festivals and increased the dollar amount once she started working with galleries. Make certain to not outprice your buyers, though. With larger paintings, Lori uses a smaller dollar multiplier.

Example for a painting with a width of xviii inches, a length of 24 inches, a square inch multiplier of $4, and a cloth price of $100:

  1. (eighteen in × 24 in) = 432 square inches

  2. 432 square inches × $4 = $1,728

  3. Rounded to $1,700

  4. $100 × 2 = $200

  5. $1700 + $200 = $1,900

FORMULA ii: (Hourly Wage × Hours Spent) + Cost of Materials

Your price should reverberate the money and time y'all put into creating it. This formula ensures you are beingness paid for each hour y'all work and are roofing the toll of your materials. It is an peculiarly good formula for artists who are simply starting out. When deciding on an hourly charge per unit, look to run across what comparable artists are charging for their art. If y'all use this formula and your price is much higher than theirs, consider lowering your hourly charge per unit.

Instance for an artist who charges $20 an hour, works for 15 hours to complete a slice, and spends $100 on materials:

  1. $20 × 15 hours = $300

  2. $300 + $100 = $400

FORMULA 3:  (Height + Width) × Multiplier

Melissa Dinwiddie, an artist and writer of the blog Living A Creative Life, recommends linear inch pricing if you have paintings of many different sizes. On a guest post for The Arable Artist, she explains that it's a good approach considering it's very elementary for buyers to understand. Square inch pricing can be confusing with a range of sizes. For case using a multiplier of $2.50 per square inch, your smallest painting (4 × 4 inches) will be $40 and your largest painting (32 × 32) will be $two,560. That can exist hard to explain to a potential buyer and could put them off. Linear inch pricing is a lot simpler to follow.

Example for a four × 4-inch painting at $20 per linear inch:

  1. 4 + 4 = eight linear inches

  2. 8 linear inches × $twenty = $160

Case for a 32 × 32-inch painting at $xx per linear inch:

  1. 32 + 32 = 64 linear inches

  2. 64 linear inches × $20 = $1,280

Pricing Your Art Consistently Pays Off

Pricing your work consistently comes with a wealth of benefits. Information technology allows you to build brownie and establish an splendid reputation among buyers and collectors. Buyers like understanding how art is priced. It will also proceed you lot in your gallery's good books.

Want to Know More? Cheque out Why it Pays to Price Consistently.