Pricing Your Artwork

What every artist should know before putting a price tag on their work

The pricing of artwork is always a delicate matter for most emerging artists. But when art is your business, pricing should be one of the foremost considerations on your mind.
​"Knowing what to charge for artwork could potentially mean the difference between the success or failure of your art business."

Australian Artist Fees & Wages 

NAVA, the National Association for Visual Arts has published a fees and wages guideline.
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Artslog Stories

Organised by a group of artists in Melbourne, Artslog allows artists to anonymously log their working conditions and the pay they receive

It is not an easy task get an overview of the common standard hourly rate for artists in Australia. Therefore, I have included  the common rates for Australian Artists Fees & Wages from the publication "The Code of Practice" the by the "National Association For the Visual Arts" in the right column below.  The full booklet is probably the most comprehensive and updated publication in regards to an artist's business practice. I highly recommend it as the one book you should have when entering the arts industry on a professional basis.

Honestly, get this one....really! 

Pricing 101
Price your artwork well with thought
and common sense.
If you work on a commission, the norm is to price your artwork on an hourly-rate plus materials basis. However, remember that commission-based work is priced differently from gallery exhibits, which again are priced independently from licensing arrangements.

​Here are some points to consider when deciding what to charge for artwork offered to your clients:

  • KNOW YOUR WORTH: Do some research and collect information about what your peers, with similar skills and experience charge. Knowing your charge-out rate is critical in determining how to price your commissions, your licensing fees or exhibition pieces.  Get familiar with the Australian norms of artwork pricing, and base your prices accordingly
 
  • EXHIBIT CONFIDENCE: Once you have determined that your rates are fair and reasonable, you should be confident in communicating those rates to clients and prospective patrons. If you are confident that your rates are reasonable, you’ll be able to convince others of that confidence too – otherwise your pricing of artwork might seem unreasonable to buyers or exhibitors alike!
 
  • DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT:  Just because a competitor undercuts you in pricing, doesn’t mean you have to sell yourself short! True art-lovers recognize the value of a piece of art and reducing your rates will only make them suspicious (or doubtful!) about it. Clients have to understand your work situation and value your status and to understand that payment for freelancing artists should acknowledge that art workers are responsible for their own disability or sickness insurance, are accountable for any faulty work and are not receiving any of the usual benefits an employee has a right to get, such as paid leave, paid sick days or superannuation or long service benefits. To the contrary they have to cover insurance costs, and deal with sporadic cash flow problems. And on top carry the costs of establishing and maintaining a fully equipped studio or work environment regardless if working on commission based work or for exhibition purposes. Finally, the self-employed must bear their own training and professional development costs.
 
  • KNOWING HOW TO PRICE YOUR COMMISSIONS: or determining the price of each exhibit piece, is about believing that ONLY YOU have the talent and skills to do what you do. So why should pricing your artwork be dictated by how someone else prices theirs?
 
  • BE CONSISTENT: Always price your artwork consistently across distribution channels. If a client finds a piece of yours at an open market sale, that is priced lower than what he/she purchased at an art gallery, your credibility could be irreparably damaged.    
 
  • DON'T OVERPRICE EITHER! When deciding what to charge for artwork of different types, don’t be tempted to drastically raise your prices – just because you can! If you want to survive and thrive in the Australian art world for a long time, then pricing your artwork reasonably is the key to your art business success    

The Ultimate
​Artwork Pricing Resource
Whether you wish to learn how to price your commissions or what to charge for artworks based on a licensing arrangement;

The Code of Conduct available at NAVA is a remarkable FREE resource that every Australian art business owner should be familiar with.
Plenty of information with valuable tables for all different types of pricing within the arts sector, be it for employment or freelancing situations :

  • Fees for studio space
  • Copyright fees
  • Illustration fees
  • Information for public and new media artists
  • Loan fees
  • Rates for teaching art
  • …and lots more!

As an art business owner, you may also want to consider a paid membership at the NAVA. You could learn a lot about how to price your artwork, and other topics relevant to art business owners, from your peers at the Association.

Your Reasons
​For Fair Pay
Never Stumble when telling your price, “but be confident in asking what is reasonable for the work you do.
I was incredibly afraid to ask for the right amount of money when I entered this profession and almost felt guilty when asking what would have been justifiable. Only when I learned what others in the industry were asking for their services did I realise that I was by far underselling my work.  It almost seems that clients can smell that you are uneasy, hence will doubt your pricing as much as you do. The moment I asked for fair prices believing that it was my right and fair, clients seem to have less problem with my price structure and I made actually made more not less, although being more costly.  
 
It is important that you think your whole situation through. Just to give you an example. If you undertake to sell an artwork for $100 instead of its real worth,  let’s say a $1000, you probably do this because you are convinct that no one will buy your work for that price. You feel pressured, because you spend on materials, but money never comes back to you.
 
There is something substantially wrong with this thinking, as was mine those many years ago. Because for selling an artwork for a thousand dollars instead of a hundred dollars, I can actually loose 9 clients AND SAVE an enormous amount of time, because you won't need to produce 9 more works to get to the same result. It's crazy and doesn't make sense.  I rather invest my time in learning a bit of marketing and consult with art organisations rather than underselling my work to such a pitiful degree.

So I learned to understand why I have a right to ask for a minimum hourly rate for commissions in particular and have listed those reasons for you personally and for the education of your clients to understand why you have a right to ask for a reasonable pay: 
​
1. INSURANCE                      
As a professional freelance artist, you may need the following insurances: public liability, transit of artwork, damage to artwork, studio content, fire and theft to protect your studio and accident or loss of income insurance, because when you are sick, you aren't getting paid.
 
2. SUPERANNUATION              
To freelance means taking care of your own superannuation, so the usual 9% rate of pay has to be factored into your pricing.
 
3. WORKERS COMPENSATIONS 
As a freelancer you are not covered under the workers compensation act, and whatever happens to you is your own responsibility.
 
4. ARTS EDUCATION & TRAINING
Many artist have put time, effort and money into some form of art education  and some will invest in further education along the way. Your skills have come from an investment you've made, while some of you were studying (full-time or part-time) or otherwise spending time to learn your craft, when you could have made an income within this time. 
 
5. NO PAY WHEN SICK          
The usual benefit of paid leave, paid sick days or long service is another reason for fair pay and needs to be incorporated into your budget.

6. HOLIDAYS                          
Like every working person, you as a self-employed artist have a right for a yearly holiday. This is as important to you as for your customer, as you have to remember how much a relaxed holiday can recharge an artists creativity. And a well-run business takes this into account.
 
7. LEGAL CONTRACTS             
Contracts or legal advice cost money. Even if you purchase certain contracts inexpensively from the Arts Law Centre, you still paid for them.
 
8. MARKETING                       
You should spend to some extent on marketing. Always! And if it is only through public relations in form of presenting yourself to potential clients and whether successful or not, even networking takes valuable time.
 
9. PORTFOLIO                          
Being in business requires to present your artwork in a professional manner, whether in form of photographs, prints, copies or  online presentation. To create a professional portfolio can be expensive.
 
10. STUDIO RENT
Whether you have a separate commercial studio or work from home, it is space you pay for.
 
11. ART MATERIALS                 
Unarguable artists do have a lot of expenses for art materials. Just think of what you have spent over the years for your trials and errors  to experiment.

12. WEBSITE
Every artist needs a website these days and it cost money and time to keep it updated and moving and alive.