HOW TO PRICE YOUR ARTWORK TO SELL

by Margaret Danielak

Pricing art is not only challenging, it is often quite frustrating. If you are a professional artist with many awards and a long exhibition history, national name recognition, have major collectors, noted commissions and numerous past sales, you can charge higher prices for your original work than an emerging artist, or one just out of college.

SEVEN PRICING FACTORS
I therefore suggest artists price their work based upon the following seven factors.

The Competition
At what price are other artists, exhibiting in the same geographical area with a similar background, producing work of a similar style, in the same medium, commanding for their work? Note, I do not say, “What is being charged for the work?” but rather, “At what price is the work actually selling?” How many pieces is the artist actually selling? 

Try to find out the answer to these questions and you will learn your price range. The price of everything, including art, is determined by what people are willing to pay, and what the overall market will bear, not by how much time it took to create the item, or how much money was spent promoting it.

Sales History
At what price have your pieces of a certain size and style sold for in the past?
 
Name Recognition 
Are you famous? If so, you can charge more for your work. Frustrating though it may be, even artists with little or no talent can command high prices if they are famous.

Size
Are your paintings seven feet long or five inches square? Size matters when pricing art. Even though it may take longer to paint a small piece, one generally cannot command as much for a small piece as for a large piece.

Beauty
Is your art “traditionally beautiful?” Are specific pieces of yours especially striking? Auction houses use several factors for assessing the value of the pieces they sell. I highly encourage artists to visit auction websites to see exactly what the auctioneers consider when selecting a price range. 

Beauty, you will note, is one of the important factors. If some of your pieces are exceptionally beautiful, colorful or recognizable, you may be able to command higher prices.

The Economy
If the economy is soft, you might need to reexamine your prices. Since art is considered to be a non-essential luxury item, you will need to ask yourself, do you really want your pieces to sell? What is more important to you; sale of your work or the art itself? 

How you feel about your art is very important. Some of the work you have produced, you may simply not want to part with for less than a certain price. If you can afford to wait it out, then, by all means, hold onto this work. You just may be able to sell it for more money next year, in a different location, when you are exhibiting the work to a different group of people.

Available Inventory
Some artists produce a very limited number of original pieces, so they price their work very high, so high that the originals are not often sold. Such artists might wish to explore licensing and publishing so they can keep their originals and make money on reproductions.

RAISING PRICES

Sometimes artists will tell me that they are going to raise their prices because someone told them they were “under priced.” More often than not, the person advising the artist was not an artist, gallery owner, rep or collector. Furthermore, the person giving this sage advice was not someone who had purchased art from either the artist or from his gallery or rep. 

It is very easy for someone to tell you that your work is under priced if they are not an art collector and have not purchased art and do not know the market.

Consider raising your prices if the following occurs:
➤ You have won a prestigious nationally-recognized grant or award
➤ Your other pieces of a particular size and price have sold easily
➤ A major collector has acquired your work or commissioned a piece
➤ A major museum has acquired your work or is hosting an
exhibition, perhaps retrospective, of your work
➤ You have obtained critical press coverage
➤ You have obtained a major commission
➤ You have become famous (or infamous!) overnight

FEMINIST TOUR OF THE NORTON SIMON MUSEUM SATURDAY MAY 16!

Portrait of The Countess Kinsky by

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
(Marie Élisabeth Louise; 16 April 1755 – 30 March 1842)

FEMINIST TOUR OF THE

NORTON SIMON MUSEUM

NEW DAY AND TIME:


Saturday, May 16 at 11 a.m.

Cost: $20 per person

not including museum admission

Followed by an Open House and Art Sale at a private home in

in Pasadena from 

1 pm to 4 pm featuring the work of Robert G. Stevens and 

noted local artist, Julie Snyder. 

JOIN ME! 

I am once again conducting a 

Feminist Tour of the Norton

Simon Museum in Pasadena.

Learn about French Portrait Artist, 

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and her narrow 

escape from the Terrors of the French Revolution! 

Tour at the peak of Spring the museum's fabulous sculpture

garden designed by noted landscape designer, 

Nancy Goslee Power. 

LAST EVENT SOLD OUT! 

RSVP: margaret.danielak@gmail.com

DanielakArt

Art Sales & Consulting Services

www.danielakart.com

626-354-0359

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR ART - TOP TEN TIPS!

by Margaret Danielak

                 1.  Create a great looking business card with a sample of your work on it, and keep it with you at all times. You never know when you are going to meet your next client.

             2.  After meeting someone for the first time, be sure to obtain their contact information so you can follow up with them. 

             3.  Prepare an elevator speech, 15 to 30 seconds in length, which answers the question: WHAT DO YOU DO?

            4.  Maintain an updated website and/or blog featuring not only your art, but articles you’ve written and any awards you’ve won.  Make it clear what is for sale, what has sold, and where and how the client can buy the work. (i.e. a particular gallery)

             5.  Do not wait for potential clients to contact you. Create a system for staying in touch with your contacts through a monthly or weekly newsletter, regular Facebook post or blog feed. Reach out to your contacts regularly.

            6.  Join and participate in not only a professional art association or guild, but a chamber of commerce, cultural or volunteer organization.  Immediately, you will be plugged into a group of affluent potential buyers this way.

        REMEMBER:  People do business with people they know.

            7.  Cultivate other creative professionals like architects, art consultants, curators, film makers, interior designers and the like.  They know a lot of people who both need and appreciate art.

            8.  Act as your own press agent. Market your work with press releases.

           9.  Be friendly and both willing and able to have a conversation about a variety of topics and not just your art. Become someone others want to know.


           10.  Find out what your client likes and then give it to them even if it isn’t your artwork. It doesn’t hurt you to "pay it forward" and may secure you a referral fee. 

     “The No. 1 secret to successful marketing is to choose a set of simple and effective marketing activities and do them consistently. Secret No. 2 is to choose those activities that best fit your personality, abilities and interests, because you are much more likely to do them consistently. Remember: The most carefully detailed marketing plan won’t work unless you make it real by putting it into action.” – Susan Urquhart-Brown.

Business Tips for Artists with Margaret Danielak

Feminist Tour of the Norton Simon Museum March 29

"S.W.A.N." DAY EVENT!
(Support Women Artists Now!)

Feminist Tour of The Norton Simon Museum
Saturday, March 29 

12:00 noon - 1:30 pm

Once again, I will be leading a small group on a tour of WOMEN MADE ART
at the Norton Simon Museum

411 W Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena
 

* SEE great works by women artists!

* HEAR my rousing account of Elizabeth Vigee-LeBrun's
dramatic escape from the Terror of the
French Revolution!

* LEARN about "The Six Degrees" of Berthe Morisot,
the only woman artist
invited to exhibit with the Impressionists! 

COST: $20.00 per person
(not including museum admission)

To reserve your spot today, send $20.00 to:
DanielakArt
P.O. Box 91656
Pasadena, CA 91105

EVENT LIMITED TO 12 PERSONS!

 

BUSINESS TIPS FOR ARTISTS: THE TOP TEN MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR ART

BUSINESS TIPS FOR ARTISTS:

THE TOP TEN MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS
TO PROMOTE YOUR ART

By Margaret Danielak (c) 2013

1.    1.  Create a great looking business card with a sample of your work on it, and keep it with you at all times. You never know when you are going to meet your next client.

2.    2.  After meeting someone for the first time, be sure to obtain their contact information so you can follow up with them. 

3.    3.  Prepare an elevator speech, 15 to 30 seconds in length, which answers the question: WHAT DO YOU DO?

4.    4.  Maintain an updated website and/or blog featuring not only your art, but articles you’ve written and any awards you’ve won.  Make it clear what is for sale, what has sold, and where and how the client can buy the work. (i.e. a particular gallery)

5.    5.  Do not wait for potential clients to contact you. Create a system for staying in touch with your contacts through a monthly or weekly newsletter, regular Facebook post or blog feed. Reach out to your contacts regularly.

6.    6.  Join and participate in not only a professional art association or guild, but a chamber of commerce, cultural or volunteer organization.  Immediately, you will be plugged into a group of affluent potential buyers this way.  REMEMBER:  People do business with people they know.

7.    7.  Cultivate other creative professionals like architects, art consultants, curators, film makers, interior designers and the like.  They know a lot of people who both need and appreciate art.

8.    8.  Act as your own press agent. Market your work with press releases. 

9.     9.  Be friendly and both willing and able to have a conversation about a variety of topics and not just your art. Become someone others want to know.

       10.   Find out what your client likes and then give it to them even if it isn’t your artwork. It doesn’t hurt you to "pay it forward" and may secure you a referral fee. 

“The No. 1 secret to successful marketing is to choose a set of simple and effective marketing activities and do them consistently. Secret No. 2 is to choose those activities that best fit your personality, abilities and interests, because you are much more likely to do them consistently. Remember: The most carefully detailed marketing plan won’t work unless you make it real by putting it into action.” – Susan Urquhart-Brown.

 

THE AUTHOR: Margaret Danielak is an art rep, curator and author of the highly rated handbook for fine artists "A Gallery without Walls: Selling Art in Alternative Venues" which was a featured selection of North Light Book Club. 

Her current exhibition "Celebrate Pasadena" - ART AT THE BAR is currently on view at the Pasadena Bar Association. For details visit www.danielakart.com - Link from first page to the online catalog. 

BUSINESS TIPS FOR ARTISTS: WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN LOOKING FOR A GALLERY

 BUSINESS TIPS FOR ARTISTS:

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN LOOKING FOR A GALLERY

By Margaret Danielak © 2015

Artists often ask me what they should look for when looking for a gallery to represent them.  As an art rep and daughter of a gallery represented artist (the late painter and illustrator Robert G. Stevens) I recommend that you obtain answers to the following questions before you attempt to approach a gallery about representation:
 

1.            How long has the gallery been in business? 

As we all know, even in the best of economic times many small businesses including art galleries struggle to find their footing. My advice is to try to find a gallery that has been in business at least four years. In fact, on the Small Business Administration (SBA) website, I discovered that…

“Two-thirds of new employer establishments survive at least two years,
44 percent survive at least four years, and 31 percent survive at least seven years, according to a recent study. These results were constant for different industries. … Of special interest, the research found that businesses that survive four years have a better chance of surviving long-term. After the fourth year, the rate of firm closings declines considerably.”

You don’t want to be accepted to a gallery only to find that it is going to close the next month so first and foremost, you want to find a gallery that has a longer term track record.

2.            Does the gallery have a good location?
  
Do they have good foot traffic and adequate parking? If not, how do they bring in new business?  You want to get a feel for their clientele and how they handle people coming and going into their physical location.

3.            What is the director’s background?

Do the directors have an art background or a marketing background?  (Ideally they should have both.) Keep in mind, per the SBA website:

“…the major factors in a firm’s survivability include an ample supply of capital, being large enough to have employees, the owner’s education level, and the owner’s reason for starting the firm.”

I would add to the list above that the gallery owner needs to have a passion for the art they are selling. If they are not passionate about the art, then you don’t want to be in their gallery.

4.         Does the gallery cross-promote with other dealers?  

Are they part of a gallery group or a regularly scheduled art walk or other event? In other words, do they make an effort to grow their business with each event they do? This is essential to their long term success, and to your assurance that your artwork will be seen.

5.         Are you able to obtain a referral for the gallery and the director? 

Speak to other represented gallery artists about the gallery’s operations and the people running it. Are they honest? Do they have written contracts and consignment agreements with their artists, and do they pay them on time? What percentage do they take? Even a seasoned gallery artist like my late father had a very bad experience with a prestigious gallery in Taos, New Mexico. Over the four years he was in the gallery, the director increasingly paid the artists very late, sometimes as much as six months after a sale! When the gallery closed suddenly with three of his paintings still in their possession, my father found out about it from a newspaper article. We have never been able to retrieve his lovely paintings from the gallery director who had stolen them.
 

6.         What kind of marketing does the gallery do? 

Does the gallery advertise in major art magazines, produce postcard mailings, work the internet and have a great website? Does the director write articles, speak in public or publish catalogues? Do they attend the major art fairs? You need to know how the gallery plans to expose your work to collectors.

7.         How are you treated when you go to the gallery? 

One of the best stories I’ve heard on this “due diligence” subject was from a sculptor. One Saturday she put on an expensive outfit, armed with her wish list, and spent the day visiting ten galleries in Santa Monica. She decided in advance that she would not mention that she was an artist looking for representation. 

At two of the ten galleries she visited the doors were closed. There was no information on the door about their hours or how they could be reached. (She crossed them off her list.) 

At three of the galleries she was greeted adequately by friendly people who knew absolutely nothing about the art on display, nor about any of the artists who created the work. (She crossed these galleries off her list as well.) 

She was ignored completely at four of the galleries she visited. The people working in the galleries didn’t even say hello to her and spent their time talking on the phone or working on the computer. They never even looked at her! (She didn’t like this at all and crossed them off her list, too.) 

 

At the tenth gallery she visited, however, she was greeted by a young man who was knowledgeable about the art. He seemed interested in her and her reactions to the work. He told her engaging stories about the artists and gave her additional information about the media the artists used to create the work. He invited her to their upcoming reception, and asked her for her contact information to add to their mailing list. She decided that, of the ten galleries on her original list, only this last gallery was worthy of her attention.

Remember that in your search for a gallery, one size does not fit all. Each gallery is unique in its location, how it is run, and the style of art the director will accept. Like the shrewd artist mentioned in the story above, before approaching a gallery you need to do some research to determine which gallery will be the best fit for you and your work.  

Source Note: 

SBA Website Quoted: “Business Employment Dynamics Data: Survival and Longevity, II,” by Amy E. Knaup and Merissa C. Piazza, Monthly Labor Review, vol. 30, no. 9 (Sept. 2007), pp. 3-10; “Redefining Business Success: Distinguishing Between Closure and Failure” by Brian Headd, Small Business Economics, vol. 21, no. 1 (August 2003), pp. 51-61.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Art Rep and Curator Margaret Danielak is the author of artist handbook A Gallery without Walls: Selling Art in Alternative Venues. (ArtNetwork Press)  She may be reached through her website at www.danielakart.com or via email at Margaret.danielak@gmail.com. 

 

To hear the March 2012 GYST radio interview with Margaret Danielak visit http://www.danielakart.com/about.html