So I've been told

I've always heard "You're selling yourself short!". Constantly, actually.

After pouring over articles, books, and magazines about "How to Price Your Work" I came up with my own personal way to satisfy myself and my customer. I didn't want to live with the guilt of making a buyer pay $900 for a 16x20 painting that took me 14 hours to do. My way of pricing things may not be ever in my favor, but I am fair. And that makes me happy. 

I charge my customer for what my time is worth and for the supplies that it takes me to make the painting. It varies a little bit, but my constant is that I keep up with my time on an excel spreadsheet and I simply plug in the numbers. I don't really have any other expenses, I work from a home office/studio so I'm passing this lack of other expenses on to my customers. This is my full time job, I'm never going to stop painting so why not make my work affordable to the public. 

I have also come across the problem of people telling me my work is too expensive for them and try to bargain their way down to a major discount. Reasonable negotiations are welcomed, but please respect that I must get paid, too. My prices are fair and I stand for that.

My ultimate goal is to make art a presence in everyone's life, and to put my art in every home. I want everyone to appreciate art and to be able to afford it if they want it. Sure, my art is a "luxury item" and a couple extra hundred or even $50 may take a little bit to let go of, especially if you have never bought art before, and in this economy... If you've thought to yourself "I'd like to have that", there is a reason. Art "speaks" to you and either reminds you of a memory or makes you feel a certain way. Purchasing art is an investment and can be passed down from generation to generation.

So, my affordable prices do not reflect a lack of self worth, they simply reflect a simple and reasonable calculation. I could go on and on, but these particular thoughts are on my mind now and I needed to say them. All of this is my personal findings/thoughts, but other visual artists have very different other opinions. For each your own.