Right now, the pricing structure and policies you have in place in your art business are a little wishy-washy.

Maybe you are pricing by effort,

or by the hour,

or by the size,

or by what you are feeling in the moment,

or by where you are showing and the affluence in that area,

or by how much you love the piece,

or by how much you think you are worth.

There are as many methods for pricing as there are artists...and I'm going to share my simple method that takes all the drama out of pricing and makes it simple math....which is how it should be.

Why People Pay You

Before we jump into price, first, it will be helpful to understand why someone pays you money for your art.

Most artists think that their collectors are paying them for the art itself.

But they are not.

They are paying them for the impact art has on their lives...the value of the art.

To explain this, just think of the last time you went to the salon.

You sit in the chair, she asks if you want coffee and checks in to see what she's doing for you today.

She touches up your roots, she shampoos you, she trims up the split ends and gives you a blow out that you'll never be able to recreate for yourself at home. You strut out of that salon looking amazing and feeling like a super model on the way back to your car.

You don't pay your hair dresser/stylist for her hours of beauty school, or the time in the chair waiting for your roots to process...you pay her for how you feel when your done.

No one cares how many times she's cut hair, or colored hair or what beauty school she went to, as long as she's able to make you look and feel the way you want.

Because when you feel good...you show up in your life so different than when you think your hair is a hot mess and you hide under a messy bun and a baseball cap.

Money is an exchange for value. Your business's job is to create value for people in exchange for money. Pricing is the math of that exchange.

How to price your art

If money is an exchange for value, then the question is how much value my art provide so I know what to charge?

Your value is set by demand. The more demand your artwork has, the more value it creates, and the more the price will increase.

So, what exactly is demand?

The definition of demand is an insistent request, the desire of purchasers, or pressing requirements.

It's when people really want what you have.

We create demand for our work in a couple of ways...

Through the delivery of our work [the quality]

Through urgency [time sensitive offers]

Through availability [how much art you have for people to buy that people really want]

Demand will increase over time as you build your art business...showing your work, talking to people, helping them with your art.

The more people who want what you have, the higher the demand is.

Where to start

So, if we price our work based on value, the key is to think about how much demand you have for your work right now. 

Early on in your art career, your demand is low. No one really knows you yet. Not many people have experienced the impact of your art. So, starting out low in your price is a good strategy as you build the foundation of collectors.

Remember, pricing is based on value and value is based on demand...not your self-worth. You are 100% worthy already. Pricing is a math formula....not a decision based on emotions.

Some of my current collectors have been with me from early in my career, and comment on how lucky they feel that they got some of my early works at the prices they paid. They've watched their investments grow as my business has grown.

It is much easier to go up in price than it is to go down...your collectors will thank you for protecting their investment and their trust will continue to grow with your relationship.

Pricing Methods

There are plenty of pricing methods out there.  Here's a review of some that I've come across in my experiences at shows and working with artists...

Time and Cost of Goods Based Method - No one cares about how much time and effort you put into the piece...they also don't care about what the supplies cost - frames, materials, etc. The only thing they care about is the impact art has on them. This method of pricing is inconsistent and doesn't align with why people buy.

Linear In Method - This strategy is successful in that it takes the emotion out of pricing and brings it back to math - but it's not scalable, so if you offer a broad range of sizes for your artwork, the linear method won't work.

Price Per Square Inch Method - Similar to the Liner Inch Method, the Price per Square Inch Method doesn't scale.

Gut Check Method - This one is simply putting a price on something based on how much you like it or how much you think your art is worth. This is just a no. You will break trust, confuse collectors, and confuse yourself.

The Location Based Method - This method is pricing your work based on what you think other people will pay for your artwork based on the affluence of an area, the location you are selling, the reputation of a show or a gallery, or past experiences selling somewhere. Again, this is a no. Your collectors won't love you for long if they pay more for your work because of where they live.

The Gallery Hike Method - When you increase your price because you are selling it at a gallery or a show that gets a commission. This is also a no. You'll teach collectors to wait until the show ends to buy from you because it's less expensive....which devalues you, breaks the relationship with your gallery, and destroys demand.

The T-Shirt Method

I created the T Shirt pricing method when I realized that I needed more flexibility in the way I priced my work because of the range in sizes I offered. I wanted to keep my pricing simple. And I knew that I needed a system that would ensure that my collectors would only ever see their investment grow over time...not decrease in value. And I knew that in order to create demand, I needed to price my work in a way that people couldn't say no.

The T Shirt Method breaks my art into categories....S, M, L. Each category has a range of sizes, and a specific price per square inch.

Example:

S - 6x6in and 8x8in at $7 per square inch

M - 12x12 and 16x12 at $5 per square inch

L - 24x24 and up at $4 per square inch

I give myself a little wiggle room on the final math calculation to make the numbers whole...Example - $1032 would become $1100.

It's simple, straightforward, and based on math vs. emotion.

Overtime, as your demand grows, you raise your prices in each category.

I've created a spreadsheet and a video tutorial that walks you through using this method, and allows you to create your own official price list for your business that you can save and reference as needed.  Click button below to download. 

I'd love to hear how things go for you with the T-Shirt Method.  Keep me posted as you implement it in your business.  I truly want to hear from you.