First Commissioned Portrait



This is drawn in a computer program, then printed, then transferred onto wood, then painted on a little bit, and then I added a glaze. It's all based on a photograph. I have a question, though: how much should I charge? The size is 8 by 10. It's on wood.

I just have absolutely no idea. It seems like such an improper question, somehow.

This one, by the way, is already paid for- it was a trade for something beautiful that another artist did. I'll show you what I got for it in a different post. (It's night right now, and so not a good time to take a picture of it.) But now people are asking me about portraits of their children and such. Which is great! And terrifying, honestly.

6 comments:

  1. Figure how long it takes you to do one, and charge something reasonable like $40/hr. ... or a million dollars.

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  2. It takes me 4-5 hours, so... four and a half million dollars?

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  3. Materials cost plus an hourly labor rate seems fair. I know an artist who does digital work and her scale is based on the content. Or you could take the price you charge for a similar work on stay and add a commission fee to it. Either way, fantastic work!

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  4. Thanks! There was this lady working at Walgreen's once, when I was there looking for a frame, who said my work was garage sale material, for sure. OUCH!

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  5. Pay yourself say, $15/hr. add the cost of materials. If I understand aright you're going to do a series of them, so if the first one flies off the easel into somebody's home the next should be increased accordingly (say,$20/hr.+ materials). Repeat. If it languishes you can put it "on sale" at reduced price and go from there. Better to work your way up from modest prices as that has the best potential to develop a following. Remember the old trick of cooking frogs in luke-warm water and gradually increasing the heat. :o)

    Anyway, nice work and good luck with sales.

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