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.

62nd Annual Fence Show!

Please come join me and many other artists displaying their art at the longest running art show in NYC! 

I will be set up with all my new works for sale. I have very small to very large artworks to display! I'm very excited to announce that I even have people from Delaware coming out to support me. Will you be there!?

Saturday, September 15, 11:00am - 5:00pm
*Rain date* Sunday, September 16
Location: Front Lawn, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, SI, NY 10301
Free

Here is where you can find all the information:

http://www.statenislandmuseum.org/calendar-programs/62nd-annual-fence-show

Lately

I have had the opportunity to work with some really fantastic people the past few months on their commissions. 

In February I got to paint an awesome landscape scene for a kind gentleman. He lost his wife last year and wanted to have a painting done in memory of her and her favorite thing- sunsets at the Outerbridge right outside her home in Staten Island. The gentleman also had me paint him and his wife sitting on a bench in front of the whole thing. He had a reception and unveiling in his home for the painting. I was floored by the amount of people that came to see the painting in her memory. That was truly an amazing commission.

Later, I painted a set of windows from a building erected in 1888 in lower Manhattan. The patron that commissioned me to paint them is a construction worker that helped restore that building. He saved this set of windows from the garbage and had an incredible idea to have an artist paint what would the window would have seen in the years it was first put in. He wanted the NYC harbor as it was in 1888. So I went to researching for old photos and details of what the boats would have looked like. He recommended that I put the SS Germanic in the picture because that boat is known for carrying over Irish immigrants in that time. I should note that my patron is Irish.- I thought this was such a grand idea for him to think of and I am quite honored to have been apart of his grand idea.

I have also been working on lots of little pets lately and I still have several more to paint! It is such a great experience to paint someone's pet and watch their face as I unveil the portrait to the owner. It is usually laughter, because they say I capture the personality so well. I love these responses! 

If you have a commission you would like me to do, please do not hesitate to email me. It takes up to 6 weeks for completion so if you would like your commission for a gift in time, please plan accordingly. Once you email me, I will email you my Commission Request Information sheet and you can make your decisions about your commissions more knowledgeably. Emailing me does not mean it is set in stone, inquiring first has to happen so that you may know more about what I do, so please don't hesitate to ask! 

Here are some of the commissions I have mentioned in this post:

Ama's Sunset. 2012. Oil on Canvas. 30x40

1888 NYC Harbor. 2012. Acrylic on Window glass.

Gabby. 2012. Acrylic on Canvas Board. 8x10.