Artists don’t produce on an assembly line and can only create so many original and “inspired” works a year (and lifetime), so let’s break down a professional art career to answer two HUGE questions in the art world: “Why is that painting so expensive? …and (for an artist)…. “How much do I charge for my work?”

**PLEASE NOTE: We are talking about Professional Fine Artists – not those out there bloating the industry with mass-produced, thoughtless work with hopes to sell to every tourist that walks by (that art is usually pretty cheap, but also usually unoriginal and uninspired)

“How long did it take you to paint that?”

People ask this all the time, looking for the answer to be in the # of hours I had the brush in my hand. Then they are annoyed when I say “My entire lifetime up until now.”

The truth is that little about the art is in the actual time creating it. In fact, if I have a clear vision, I can easily finish a piece in about 12 hours (broken up over three days to allow for canvas prep and drying time). Therefore, if I wanted to make $100/hr (yes, please) then I would only have to charge $1200 for the painting, right? Wrong.

90% of my work is sold through a gallery. Galleries typically take 50% of the sale. I now see only $600 of that $1200. Still $50/hr isn’t bad….However, that 12 hrs painting really only accounts for 10% of the time I spend working on my art career.

The Breakdown:

If you aren’t painting, what are you doing? Well, here’s a break down:

50% Marketing: a painting will never sell if no one knows it is there.

- Photographing and sharing new work through newsletters, website/blog, social media

- Entering competitions, exhibitions – you can’t expect the big bucks if you don’t have any credibility

-Attending openings, meetings with curators, proposing shows, managing a business (that’s right, art isn’t just a hobby for these professionals… we pay sales/income taxes and deal with proper licensing and paperwork)

30% Inspiration:

It is true that anything can inspire an artist, but most of the inspiration is garbage…it is our job to filter out the bad inspiration and create from the good (admittedly this is easier said than done…we often realize after finishing a piece that the inspiration was in fact, a flop)

- Dreaming up the concept…this comes from life experiences, day-dreaming, jolting awake in the middle of the night to scribble on a piece of paper, and writing on the shower wall in crayon. If we don’t have the vision, the painting will not be!

- Prioritizing: most ideas are never brought to fruition due to lack of time, money or a forgetful mind…they stay locked away in our heads or long forgotten.

20% Research:

-I have my ideas, now I need to research them for reference photos, relevance, sketches, and ask the question “has it already been done better?” (ex: I’m working on a museum exhibit that is going on a year of research and have not yet painted a single stroke)

10% Preparation:

-Gather the supplies, work space, time and mid-set to see this work come to be….and in my case, I sew and stretch my own canvas, so there is a lot of work involved before paint hits the palette. (See step by step blog on the ripping/sewing canvas and stretching that goes on)

10% Painting:

“Don’t bother me, I’m in my happy place!”

Ring It Up!

ALL RIGHT! So lets take another look at that $1200.

-50% went to the gallery representing the sale (can’t blame them for having to keep their lights on). So we have $600, which was $50/hr.

-Since that 12 hrs of actual painting was 10% of the total time working….(stick with me, math makes me cross-eyed)….then I actually spent 120 hrs to get to that $600. This means by charging $1200 for a painting that took me 12 hours, I don’t make $50/hr, I make $5/hr.

Wrap It Up!

Ding, ding, ding! Congratulations,….this sale just earned you LESS than minimum wage, and we didn’t even account for material cost (which adds up at $8/tube of paint)! You are now, a successful, award-winning, museum collected STARVING artist!!! (which ironically was what I told my mom I wanted to be at age 7….the other career choice was a farmer)

Artists and art lovers…after years and years of dedicated work to mastering our craft, we have two choices:

CHOICE #1. Charge what our time is really worth and hope that a client comes around who sees the value of investing in a completely original and one of a kind, limited edition (once we croak, the creating ends) piece of art for their walls….as opposed to purchasing a department store print that they will spend more money on the framing than the actual “art.”

CHOICE #2. Become a non-for-profit organization, write off all losses and realize that your art is enriching the lives of all (except your empty pantry)

CHEERS!

How to Encourage “Cope” With Children’s Creativity

In response to a post on my Facebook Page (names have been changed):

The original post:

“So help me out here, maybe others reading this can relate: Danny, turning 5 in Oct, has been begging me to paint pictures. Fine, but this summer we’ve only had two weeks of sun, so while it shines, outdoor activities we do. Yesterday it rained, big shocker, so Danny remembered me telling him we only paint on rainy days. I couldn’t go back on my word, so we pulled out ALLLLLLL the painting things – it’s a chore in itself! I told him that if I pull it all out, he must paint for more than 10 mins. You know, “I’m bored mom, I’m done” after only coloring/painting for two mins. And then, I told him he must paint, not create a giant mess! You know, mixing all the colors on the plate and then painting in one spot, causing the paper to rip and in turn painting all over the dining room table. So, the question is, how do I cultivate this little desire to paint and have fun, but teach them to actually paint something of “substance?” I’ve already banned playdoh from the house for making too much of a mess, I can’t legitimately ban painting too because he just wants to make a mess, not actually paint. So help me out Oh Wonderful Artist! What do I do? And please, don’t tell me his mess is a beautiful creation because really, it’s just a mess! Poor little guy, after he finished he asked if I liked it and I just looked at it with indifference and said, “I love it because you made it, but honestly, it looks like a mess to me!” To which he got this really pouty lip and said in his saddest of sad voices, “You don’t like it, do you mom!!!??” Ahh, what to say, what to do! Perhaps I need a little cultivating too!”

My Reply:

First, I want to begin with the fact that as I write this, my 4yr and 2yr old are on coloring on either side of me with crayons, making their own little “masterpieces.” Combined with my background as an art instructor of k-12, I am no stranger to young creatives! That said, I want to thank the writer for her candid honesty as any mother knows the amount of work that goes into cleaning the “messes” that accompany creativity! We don’t want to discourage the creativity, however if we overpraise everything a child does, they may grow up to assume everything they do is great despite the amount of effort. So I am providing my experiences on how to keep creativity from turning into cry-itivity! There are even some photos of the “masterpieces” that currently hang on our walls!

THE MESS

PROBLEM:

But it is so messy! I can relate… at 30, I still make huge messes as I create (this is why I need an entire paint-splattered studio). Even as adults creating, we know that the simplest crafts can become disasters so it would be hard to expect young hands to keep paint off the table and play-doh off the floor.

SOLUTION:

Time for you to get creative! Clean up is easier if you anticipate and ward off the mess. SO if your little nugget uses so much water that he paints holes through the paper, give them cardboard or canvas to paint on instead. If you are worried about the table, tape a trash bag down first. Play-doh on the rug? Only sculpt outside where the rain can wash away all those tiny chunks of clay that kids under 5 insist on making. Another tip: your old t-shirts work better than art aprons for painting (because we all know that paint can end up in crazy places)!

PAINT SOMETHING “GOOD!”

PROBLEM:

Let’s be honest, is the finished piece any “good?” Well, probably not….if compared to the Great Masters of fine art. BUT kids don’t care! Even professional artist’s rarely paint masterpieces, however they learn something with every work.  So take comfort in knowing that your little one is finding knowledge, joy, and expression in each creative session. There is a freedom and beauty in a child’s creativity. For them, it is all about the process and no concern for what others think about the final product!

“I used to draw like Raphael, but it has taken me a whole lifetime to learn to draw like a child” ~Picasso

SOLUTION:

Limit the palette. It is a fact that if you give a young child a paint blob of every color in the rainbow, they will quickly turn it into a puddle of brown. Kids don’t understand color theory! So if you really want them to paint something wall-worthy, limit their choices (teach them color blending techniques a little later in the game). A tip is to give them an analogous color scheme – or colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.  For example: only reds, oranges, yellows OR just blues and greens. But not red and green! They, and any colors across from each other on the color wheel are complementary colors (complementary colors mixed together = some ugly shade of brown). Keep it analogous and when the inevitable mixing begins, their work will be a blended masterpiece!

Color Wheel

Neutral palette: once dry add sketches

Limited palette: only greens and blues

Another tip which also helps keep or work with those short attention spans is to guide the project in steps. For instance, encourage them to paint a background and cover all the paper in their analogous colors. Then, let them take a break while the background dries and come back to add another layer…this time with crayon or ink. The following piece was created by my daughter’s when they were three and one. We painted different textures with different tools. I offered a foam brush for the background, a flower for the texture and their hands for the final layer. They rotated their colors for each step and the breaks between each color allowed them to play and refocus!

Left: Age of 3yrs, Right: Age of 1 1/2 yrs

Lastly, remember to have fun! While the process may only last a short 10 min, the developmental experience and the memories will last them a life-time. And as they grow, so will their neatness and skill. Creativity is key to surviving in today’s world. Even if there is no chance that your child will become a professional artist, they will use creative thinking and problem solving (even some glue and paint) throughout their entire life. Take pictures of them creating or of the final piece (so you don’t have to save them all) and embrace the mess…after all, whether they use paint or mud kids will always find something to “create” with.

As they grow, paintings will grow too!