Selling And Pricing Artwork

Selling artwork is such an arbitrary thing because it really is weird to set a price on something you made when you are unsure of the value of it. But the thing is, as humans, we all have different values of what we deem worthy, and what means something to us. A single art piece could be worthless to one, or it could be mean everything to somebody else. Some people have loads of money, and others are scraping by. Yeah the system is really fucked, but that is for another blog post. Money is a made up concept. Whether you are the richest man alive, or the poorest, money is literally just a number made up on a screen or pieces of thin paper that have just been assigned a "value" . I mean, if you think about it a dollar bill and a hundered dollar bill are the exact same piece of paper, probably take the same amount of effort production-wise and cost wise to produce, yet they are just assigned different values and we have accepted it as that. A one dollar bill is the same exact thing as a hundred dollar bill, someone random just said we will call this one a hundred, put a different face on it, and now it is worth 100 times the same piece of paper. As we set prices for artwork, we keep in mind the consumer. The people around me in my current community, would laugh and scoff if they saw I would price my work in the thousands. Or at least some people would. But that is the most miniscule population. My issue is that I am still figuring out my ideal consumer. And that is who you price your work for. You do not price your work for the ones who don't understand it anyways. There are people who would spend thousands on a painting, and other people who wouldn't even cough up $50 for that same painting, even if they had the money for it.

I was also thinking the other day, that selling and setting your price is similar to dating. You do not go door to door asking people to choose you. Come on! Somebody!! Please just love me. I don't care who! I feel like I used to look at selling art that way. Like come on! Anybody!!! Anyone at all please just buy this. Tell me it is worth something. And as I realize what true self-worth is, the layers of desparation begin to dissipate. I know I am worthy, I know I have something to offer, because I exist. Not only that, I am a unique individual who has something different to bring to the table, just like everyone else. I do not go around the streets begging others to see that in me. It is something you just realize. I do not just date anyone. I have some standards, I have non-negoiables, not just anyone can get access to me. To give yourself permission to have the same standards for selling your work is important. If you price it at a dollar, people will see it as that. If you go around letting just anyone have access to you, they won't value you as much. Because you are just that easy. Pieces do not sell that much in the mid hundreds I feel like. That is because who is your audience? The lower class does not have the means to spend money on original art work, the middle class would probably buy second hand, or prints, or paintings valued very low. The upper class does not buy art in the hundreds because it's value is too low. They want the best they can get, something that is valuable, because not only do they have the means, but a couple thousand dollars is like a couple hundred to other classes.

So my audience. Who are they? My buyers are the one's who know money is a made up concept. They are not afriad to spend money because they know they will keep getting it. They value new thought, pushing boundaries, expressiveness, inrony, challenging the system. They value their home space to be that of imagination, color, quirkiness. They are not afraid to be themselves. They think big, they dream big, and they think out of the box. They do not see the way that herds think and see. They are inspired by these paintings, and they see true value in them. They see that they have a unique story, an energy, a feeling, an emotion.

I have gotten scared to price my artwork really high. I get in my head. Who does she think she is? Good luck! Why does she think her work is really worth that amount? That is hilarious. That is the ugliest painting I have ever seen! It is weird it is creepy. My 5 year old kid could do that!!! Wow she should keep more to herself. Yikes, that is way too out there. There is no way she really thinks anyone would buy it for that amount. I sure as hell wouldn't. That is funny she thinks she could really make a living from art, she didn't even go to art school. She taught herself to paint and cannot actually paint anything that is realistic.

I sometimes hear this in the back of my head. But then I snap out of it! That is not my audience!!! That is no lover of mine. I know my worth. And if you can't see it, it was not meant for you anyways. I have been trying to fit my artwork into spaces where it cannot be seen or perceived correctly. For instance, some people are attracted to me, and some are not. Some think my tattoos are crazy, insane and ugly, and some people admire them, compliment them, and really see them. Sometimes I let myself remain in spaces where people don't admire me. They belittle me, they think I am dumb, or stupid or just not right in the head. But then I enter a different space, a gay bar as opposed to a sports bar. And instantly, energy is shifted. My artwork does not belong in a western art gallery. Or a luxurious tidy colorless, lifeless mansion. It doesn't belong in a household of bigots or a church or a sports bar.

As I come to think about belonging, and what it is to feel at home, it means to not only be accepted, but honored, embraced, admired, and truly valued. We do not all belong everywhere. I do not feel like I belong from the place I came. I know a lot of people feel that way. I know it is a feeling I decide myself, but it is a form of self harm to keep youself in spaces that do not actually see or hear you. Home is where I can be me, without hiding, without having to wear layers of armor and protection. And as I get to this underatnding in my life in many aspects, it feels even deeper with art, and where my art belongs. And I no longer have to subject it to galleries, or put it on display for people who just do not get it. It is made for those who will appreciate it. In their space. In their home, or their office, or their restraunt to really set the precedent of what space is being cultivated. And there is so much more to say, about all of this. But I will leave it at this for today.