Many students at CSArts do art commissions for the sake of experience and money– but how should they be pricing their work?
As students work to improve their art at CSArts, many are already doing art commissions on the side. Online, many find a way to sell their work, but a recent debate about fair art prices has brought up interesting questions regarding the working hours, materials, and cost of living of artists. Additionally, many debate the potential effects of overpricing or underpricing art commissions.
“I think it’s up to each individual artist to price their work based on how much time it spent them and also who their customers are,” says Madeleine Cham, a 10th grader in the Visual Arts conservatory. Cham says that pricing should depend on what the customer is willing to pay, and it can be very difficult to figure out how to charge depending on each country’s currency. Artists who don’t have a consistent customer base could price their art lower, and often more, based on the hours worked.
It is also important to consider where you are within your own career while pricing art commissions. “Someone that may have been in the art world longer with degrees, art shows and numerous commissions under their belt have built a name for themselves and can charge more,” says Matthew McMullen, a teacher in the Visual Arts Conservatory. McMullen says that pricing art commissions can be a tricky balancing act. Artists can’t charge too much, otherwise many customers will not choose to buy their art, while charging too little may appear as though students don’t value their own art. Conversely, many artists will charge less while beginning and be able to charge more and more as they improve and get more experience under their belt.
“I think selling your art regardless of the price is a very good thing. It’s a good experience. It’s very fun. As long as you don’t get burned out and you value your own art, I think it can be a good thing,” says Cham, who personally sells her art online. She says that one additional benefit is the added work to art portfolios, which could be used in the future.
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