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.

Personal Project For My Fans:

Alright, so every once in a while I get thoughts and questions in my head about where all my art is. Of course, I have several waiting to find a home in my very own studio closet (hint hint, any of you potential buyers), but for now I am talking about the 100s - wow, is it really 100? - of artworks that have found their cozy home and made so many people happy. 

I'm challenging all of my buyers, patrons, and admirers of old and young to please take a photo(s) of your "Samantha Floyd Fine Art" original and show me what you've done or where you've put my art work! Whether it be in your home, bedrooms, office, desk, classroom, I want to see it! I want to be inspired and motivated to make more art. After all, you are what keeps me going. Plus, it will be so awesome to see my work in your space!

This ongoing project will be posted on my Facebook and here on this blog! So please participate in this fun project with me! 

And any of you that want to purchase an artwork and then partake in this great little event, you are more than welcome to contact me about any art work. Hehe :) 

Thanks and this is to be continued...

I'll be back!

I want to wish everyone a safe and fantastic 4th of July!

I will be taking off July 4th - 11th.

Email is always the best way to contact me, but I will be out of the country so please be patient until I can reply on the 12th.

Thanks so much for your continued support! Please share this blog and my Facebook page with all your friends and anyone you think would be interested in my work!

-Samantha

www.facebook.com/samanthafloydart

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.