Pricing an Egg Tempera picture

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

Retail Gallery Pricing

I would like to hear some opinions about pricing a picture,

Egg Tempera vs.

oil
acrylic
water color
other mediums

medium against time spent to make a galley picture [ painting]

how do most of you actually work out cost! do we actually ignore working hours?

[Alessandra Kelley]

It is one of the weirder aspects of the art world that there is a hierarchy of costs of artworks based on their media, regardless of how much work they take to make. Oil paintings are at the top of the painting ranks, then acrylics, and far below are watercolors and pastels, even though they all take about equal time and skill to create (Interestingly, they seem to be ordered by perceived durability).

There is a further ranking based on size. People seem reluctant to talk about it, but there is a definite price-per-square-meter aspect to artworks.

Egg tempera has the virtue of being obscure (That's "virtue" in the Renaissance sense of "property", not "benefit"). I rank tempera paintings with oil paintings, since tempera is a venerable, challenging medium which is in many ways more durable than oils. I've had to argue this with shows which, not knowing where to place temperas (and having no check-boxes for them on their list of media), tried to classify them as watercolors.

As for pricing, my rule of thumb is to figure the hours a painting took to create and multiply them by a non-insulting hourly wage, add in the cost of materials (not forgetting any time used to make the materials), and add a reasonable amount for overhead: studio rental, heating, insurance, etc.

[PhilS]

I would agree with Alessandra - decide on an hourly wage you would like to make for your efforts, add in materials costs (and any other peripherals), and use that to come up with a lower-end figure. Then talk with the gallery owner. They know the market (hopefully). Egg tempera, in my experience, sells in the price range of oils, slightly higher than watercolor, acrylic or pastels.
I've been selling long enough that my prices are based on previous sales. Each year we go up 10 to 20%. So far, so good, though my skeptical brain tells me that at some point we are going to hit the "ceiling."
It's an odd phenomenon in the art world, but if you underprice your work it won't sell. If the price is too low, clients figure it must not be any good(?)
Hope this helps.
Phil

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

I've been selling long enough that my prices are based on previous sales. Each year we go up 10 to 20%. So far, so good, though my skeptical brain tells me that at some point we are going to hit the "ceiling."
(?)
Hope this helps.
Phil

in many ways it does Phil, this last winter

1. I got a stamp issued, with the greek post office as one of the official paintings for

2. the "Patras 2006 European Capital of Culture" http://www.patras2006.gr [sorry painting not posted yet ]

3. the cover page of the greek version of "the artnewspaper", Ta Nea Tes Technes (Athens, founded 1992) see link but has older version paper [will post a picture latter]

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/aabout/network.asp

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/newimg/TNT.jpg
4. 2 paintings up on action

sotheby's

no longer on line

and bonham's

http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=USA&screen=lotdetailsNoFlash&iSaleItemNo=3201686&iSaleNo=14215&sServer=http://images1.bonhams.com/&sPath=2006-04/06/94319018-6-2.tif

and other local exposure, so with the next up coming solo event in oct/nov, the question is

should I charge by the square cm [1 euro] that is 40x50cm = 2.000 euros

[David McKay]

With all due respect, you can not price any art object by means of production costs, time involved, donations to the animal welfare fund for the hair in the brushes, etc., etc., etc.

The price of a work of art is mostly a matter of perception in the potential purchasers mind. That is why a Wyeth tempera sells for three million and an equally competent painter gets 10,000 for a tempera of the same size. Even if the Wyeth is arguably better, is it 300 times better?

It takes talent, skill and practise to make a good or great, work of art. It requires promotion and marketing to create a great price for it.

David

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

It takes talent, skill and practise to make a good or great, work of art. It requires promotion and marketing to create a great price for it.

David

ok, David, any ideas about product positioning, cause you can sell one or two art works at a nice high price, but the art market [outside the US & UK, has limits] evolves, trying to sell over a decade is complicated, trying to sell thru the next decades seems to be just as a difficult task. Potential buyers hesitate to buy a painting if it does not have fame connected to the signature. It seems that the 4P of marketing have less to do with the actual product, and it’s rather the P&R of the artist that counts

Should I advertise my prices in the local art magazines as a car!

painting @ 10,000 euros, to be exhibited at bla bla gallery?

Because this looks like my next step, as buyers need to have an estimated price tag!

[David McKay]

Dimitris:

I do not profess to have all the answers, or (on some days) any off them. However it has been my experience and intuition that people buy what they like provided that they somehow believe that it is good or smart or an investment or their friends think those things. I am sorry if I sound rather sceptical. My studio is within a commercial gallery and I see a lot of the business transactions on a day to day basis. Most people like to be told what is ok because many of them are very unsure of their own judgement. Beleive me, it is very refreshing when somebody simply likes your work and buys it, and that is that.

On a practical level we have to somehow come up with a price that is in line with what other artists of equal talent, experience and reputation charge for their work. Then as we accumulate more "fame, competency and reputation" we raise our prices. I don't believe there are price limits but the clientele may change as our prices rise. It is also important that the public knows this is what is taking place. We have to keep this going as you say, over the decades so it is important that we create what is truly within our hearts and minds and not fall prey to jumping on some bandwagon because it is popular at the time. In the long run I think honesty and commitment pays off.

You have to make the best use of every bit of good luck or accomplishment that comes your way. Congratulations, by the way, on your recent stamp. That is excellent news and excellent news to promote!

Anyway, I am not out of the woods by any means with my career and these are just some thoughts from a guy who is ready for bed, and may have spent too long out in the sun mowing my lawn this evening. Good luck to all of us. David

[Alessandra Kelley]

Yes, congratulations, Milionis, on wonderful news. It's very exciting to have your work recognized like that.

I do think there are lot of different philosophies on pricing artworks. Mine is, as I said, only my rule of thumb, a logic-based one because the illogic of the Art World drives me buggy. Other people who have other ways of viewing things may certainly choose another system.

It really depends on what is honestly most important to you. If you start from there, you may be able to consider the method of how you want to price your art.

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

found the Sotheby's link via another provider

http://www.invaluable.com/partnerpages/Lot.aspx?SaleHouseID=1103664&SaleID=1134567&UNID=218038703

http://image.invaluable.com/_lotimages/1134567/FULL/72.jpg