You Charge How Much For Your Art?!

One of the more difficult decisions for an artist is how much to charge for their art. There are no hard or fast rules and it differs for each artist.

Artists may charge a small fee. They might feel they are not experienced enough to ask for a fee that covers their materials and their time. Talented artists will get commissions this way and may be able to build up their fees as they progress but for the first years of their career, it is close to working for free as they swallow the cost of their time and materials.

When I think of other jobs and workers, I wonder how many of those workers are paid this way - working for a small salary or for free and paying for the materials to do the job. Yet there is often an expectation of clients to pay lesser fees as the artist is new and not eligible in their opinion to earn a higher rate of pay.

Indeed, people may ask an artist to work for free.

"I'll hang it up and you get free advertising."

"I'll give you credit in my book as the artist."

Switch the job of artist to that of another worker - electrician. (I picked electrician for no other reason than I know a hard-working electrician.) Would people ask an electrician to work for free?

"If you supply all the materials and wire my house you can put a sign in my yard and get free advertising."

"If you supply all the materials and wire my house I will give you credit when I show my house to my friends."

I suspect people wouldn't expect the electrician to work this way but strangely, they do often expect an artist to.

Other artists charge for their time and materials and often hear "you charge how much for your art?!" That might be followed by "I can do this myself for free." Or "my grandson/friend/sister/etc could do just as well." Ouch.

I charge different rates for different work: illustrations, watercolour/ink, and coloured pencil. Why? Well, the work load differs for each type of art.

Illustrations may be small but there is a great deal of consulting with the editor or individual who has commissioned the work. Usually an artist will agree to make one or two changes as they progress through the art. There are always specific instructions on the size, the colours used, and the image. Illustration work is enjoyable but time consuming. My pricing for this is based on what type of illustration I am asked to create and you can click on my pricing page if you are interested.

Watercolour/Ink is usually faster and so the price is less. At this time I charge $40.00 an hour and about $50.00 for the materials to create the price you see for each painting.

Coloured pencil work is time consuming. I can easily spend 10 to 12 hours on one portrait. At this time I charge $40.00 an hour and about $100.00 for materials to create the prices posted on this website. These materials are expensive. They are lightfast for more than 100 years (won't fade if care for properly) and they cost. For example one black Luminance pencil can cost $8.95 unless you find one on sale.

Artists love what they do. Many create and give away their work for the pleasure of seeing the joy the gift gives. Many charge a small fee to help pay for their expensive materials. And others try to make a living doing one of the best jobs in the world. I hope the next time you are in a gallery, at an art fair, or looking on line for a piece of art you will understand why "you charge how much for your art?!"