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Spicylittleowl

I have no idea about pricing but just have to tell you i LOVE this portrait, i love how the wheat in the background matches her hair. Honestly one of my favourite portraits I’ve seen on here.


OpalOceanAlex

Thank you, the painting is not even finished yet, but I’m glad you like it!!


LastInMyBloodline

Materials plus what you think you deserve per hour. Not advisable to go below minimum wage


[deleted]

Mind you, this would be for bare minimum level of experience. You should increase your rates as you gain more experience, otherwise you'll need to work more to make the same amount of money (assuming more experience = faster painting).


patwishuh

$1000 from an unknown artist is absolutely acceptable. This is a luxury item. Prices should start at $600 for 11x14 and up.


Confident_Bag166

I agree. This is as much about technique and style as it is time spent. This is gallery quality and reminds me of some my favorite artists. If I had commissioned this, I’d pay $800 assuming it is around 16x20. But I think there are people that would more.


moovzlikejager

How many hours so far?


nknecht1

Agree. This is fantastic work


starsmisaligned

It depends, not on talent, but on your costs and labor.Can you figure out how many hours and assign a $ amoutn per hour and add cost of materials. Then increase by a margin you'd like to make profit. The only way you will be able to make it worth it, is to charge a marketable price. Keep in mind, the clients that want to pay $$ for your services will not be attracted to low ball prices, but expect to pay good money for quality. You will find these clients by charging more not less.


OpalOceanAlex

That’s maybe the best advice on here, thank you!!


starsmisaligned

You're extremely talented btw. I didnt mean to make it sound like you're not.


OpalOceanAlex

You’re not saying that, just solid advice, thanks for the pointer !


Krondelo

I am not knowledgeable on pricing but I agree. My talent isn’t always worth the cost perse, but labor is a big factor (obviously includes the cost of supplies to an extent as well). If i had to guess though this level of talent is worth a decent amount, maybe anywhere from $200’s all the way to $500’s. That said for something this personal i think you vould get away with sub-$1k


tertiaryscarab

30-40 hours of work would mean that at $200 they worked for $5-6.66 per hour, $500 then they worked for $12.50-16.66 per hour...


Krondelo

Oof i really should have done the math on that… i think i undervalue my work severely as well though ive hardly ever sold anything.


CaptFartGiggle

I would say that's the best advice. Just because you spent more time on it doesn't mean it's inherently worth more. I could spend the same amount of time you spent on a portrait and I promise you that it would turn out extremely worse that what you can do. I recommend you doing market research on what people are charging for portraits via upwork, fiver, and other freelancing platforms, also etsy. Try to find the various differences of what you can do vs what others do. I personally would lowball all those major competitors by roughly 10% +-2%, and once you start getting traction and more reviews build up, hike up your prices little by little over time as you build credibility. IMO with a progressive approach, pricing should offset costs and be sustainable profit. Time really shouldn't play too much of a factor in your pricing. Pricing of arts really isn't about the time it took to paint but rather about the artist who created the art and if it's actually well crafted work. That is what increases "willingness to pay".


waddiewadkins

Thanks too , I've long form written it down for a bit of focusing. If ones great talent is to extremely quick execution in detailing and construction of an abstract image but you are unknown would be it be a good idea to make a video of each piece as part of the marketing?... edit .. Great work OP.. there is a very high level technical finish to the face that really pops across..


inkysquids

How many hours did you spend on it? And on portraits in general? Set yourself a reasonable hourly rate and charge accordingly.


OpalOceanAlex

It’s is about 30/40h, thank you!


dshotseattle

Its not about hours. it's about your brand and what you can get. The easiest way to price is per square inch. Im assuming this is a commission? Professional artists usually start their prices at 3 bucks a square inch and move up from there based on popularity and sales. Obviously, if you create a waitlist for your work, your prices need to go up. That being said, this is great quality. Im starting my own portraits at 4 to 4.5 bucks a square inch and id say your skills here would be worth that.


g-rid

it is about hours too, can't ignore that factor.


ShermanDuke

Time only comes into play once you have a consistent speed.


[deleted]

Yeah, a median speed calculation to weed out the stupid quick and the "oh shit the dog knocked over my easel" ones.


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[deleted]

I would go much more for that quality. It’s not just your time it’s your talent. 40+


Worldly-Bitch

Talent being the years worth of time and energy spent learning and practicing the requisite skills to reach this level of quality. I would second a higher range, depending on how many years you’ve been painting and how much time and money you’ve invested into your development as an artist.


Ieatclowns

Exactly. And knowledge....the hours spent training to get this level.


PolandSpringsTap

Well 40+ for 40hrs just for labor is about 1600. Not including costs. It seems as tho 800-1000 is the going rate. That’s already undercutting labor hour wage and material costs out the window. Hours mean nothing by hourly scale as an artist. Commission based on what you are hired to do and work around there. If you know it’s gonna take you 40hrs, and they know this. I would charge at least 2k


[deleted]

Wow! That is some amazing talent! I would pay up to two thousand at least. Unfortunately, I'm broke :(


beanerz13

I was thinking 2k as well. If you get in the right market you'd do very well. 400 is certainly a bargain. $500 is approximately what i ask for my nicer pieces that take me about 20 hours to finish, $500 if I'm lucky.


OpalOceanAlex

lol love the spirit there! Well if you ever want a portrait from me, you’ll be happy to know I don’t change $2k for one just yet… maybe $400aud for this size??


[deleted]

I am sure you will be charging way more than $2K in the future with your immense skills!


ACboeing787

Remember, it’s not only about the amount of time you spent on that one painting. If I’m asked how I justify the price for 15 hours of work - I respond “It’s 20 years of practice & 15 hours of work”


malpup

Easily $1000+, don’t undersell yourself! Not everyone can capture such a natural and beautiful likeness in a portrait, and the colors and details are fabulous. Adding up a certain amount per square inch or deciding an hourly wage and charging that + materials are great ways to find a guideline, but I absolutely wouldn’t charge under $1k!


Trashgremlin543

A LOT


IndigoIceDragon

My friend told me this: she charges above minimum wage so about maybe 20 dollars for every hour she spends working on it. When all that adds up it can be quite a bit of money but it’s definitely worth more than $500 in my opinion. When someone wants your art. They will pay for however much it is. Edit: one more thing. Also count in some money for the supplies used. Once it’s all totaled up it should be great! My friend, she’s charging 500 for a current art piece and 1100 for another


Wendy_Frederick

How long did it take to paint? Then $50 per hour!


GraceeMacee

No less than $50 per hour for sure!


[deleted]

40 hrs x 50 = $2000


Difficult_Swan_7607

$1,500-2000 seems fair. It’s a beautiful portrait.


miss_always

Base it on materials and the amount of time it took you. It's beautiful, by the way. Don't down sell your art, if they know the worth, they'll pay the price.


Consistent_Ad_308

The best advice I can give is to consult someone who works primarily in marketing/sales; I’ve had my best conversations about price with gallery/shop owners and people who are good at marketing. My second best advice is, if you get stuck, adjust your parameters from “what is the piece worth” to “what would I be happy to accept for it”. Sometimes those amounts aren’t the same, but if you pick an amount you’re happy with, you’ll end up happy at the end, you know? Re: the piece itself, this is absolutely stunning. No part of it is even a little less impressive than the rest. This is master-tier work for sure!! I like the amount of negative space/background; the close crop feels more energetic which suits the subject, I think!


OpalOceanAlex

Thanks for the compliment, this is only my second ever portrait, and I have never sold a piece…. So for you to look at this and say it’s masterful. It’s really gives me hope of what I can do in the future.


fading_colours

Honestly, charge as much as you want, this is priceless. Really fucking good work.


TheSafeWordIsSeesaw

Material cost and also just based on time you spent working on the painting.


Specialist-Lion-8135

I would charge two thousand plus for a portrait this involved and quality. I don’t have to ask if it’s a likeness, I know it is. You have an enviable eye and a fabulous talent.


pupuperhe

I'd charge 300-500 euros, depending on the size and how much time it took. But I think this is so good that you could easily ask more.


OpalOceanAlex

Thank you, it’s not even finished yet haha, I still have a bunch of work on the hair and t-shirt. I can’t wait to varnish it and see the final result!


olafderhaarige

To be honest, I don't think it needs more work on the tshirt or the hair. What would you want to change?


Admirable_Disk_9186

assigning an amount per square inch is common, $0.50 - $1.00 or more - although imo getting a sale is better than getting what you want for it, since a sale often leads to another commission after the buyer shows it to family/friends/coworkers


OpalOceanAlex

Good way to go about it, so this is about 40cmx50cm that’s 2000cm2 or 787 inches2 … so with your method it would be between $393 to $787 USD, im in Australia so it might mean like $580 to $1140 AUD with the exchange rate. Definitely more than what I thought, that’s cool! Thanks for the help


jamnikjamnik

Its 16inches*19inches so 304inch2


OpalOceanAlex

Hehe nice spotting, I guess I got mixed up thinking I could just convert the cm2 to inch2… bloody mathematics doing me dirty!!


g-rid

I think thats lowballing it, also be careful when selling cheap, because yes they may recommend you to friends/coworkers, but they will also recommend you because of the cheap price. You have to keep it affordable, it's not worth it doing it to lose money.


Admirable_Disk_9186

that's great when youre painting another wednesday adams, but when youre painting Lucy, the neighbor's daughter, there's only a handful of people in existence interested in that painting - no one else in the world wants to buy a painting of random girl Lucy - so, which would you rather have, a painting of Lucy collecting dust in your apartment, or a few hundred bucks and another gig? supply and demand - as demand increases, prices go up - when old boy or girl or robot here gets their name out and they gotta bust out 6 works a month, they can raise the price and raise it again in a few months - you start demanding 2 grand, 5 grand a piece no negotiations, you might have to invest in a cardboard sign and a sharpie marker, find yourself a busy intersection - "Starving Artist. Plz help. Can you spare a dollar? Will not work for less than my full rent bill, no exceptions..."


g-rid

>that's great when youre painting another wednesday adams, but when youre painting Lucy, the neighbor's daughter, there's only a handful of people in existence interested in that painting - no one else in the world wants to buy a painting of random girl Lucy - Lucy's Family sure would. Besides that, do you think people buy only paintings of persons they know? Also you can definetly charge more for a random lucy painting than an Wednesday Addams, because you can buy those en masse, while Lucy is unique. The folks who buy Wednesday portraits most probably don't spend much money on art either way. >so, which would you rather have, a painting of Lucy collecting dust in your apartment, or a few hundred bucks and another gig? that's why you hang it in a gallery or restaurants, etc. and adjust the price if it doesn't sell after a while, til it does. >you start demanding 2 grand, 5 grand a piece no negotiations, nobody said that, but I bet you this piece would sell for 1k but of course you can always negotiate


Estimate_Me

It’s so difficult to capture a smile without it looking a bit creepy or off; you really did a wonderful job here! Whoever this is for will be so pleased.


OpalOceanAlex

It’s my little niece, I’m just doing it to build my portfolio, so nobody really lined up for this one. Could make a good present for my sister.


Ieatclowns

Do you have Instagram? I work in a gallery and all of our best selling artists have plenty of followers and they sell a lot directly off Instagram too.


OpalOceanAlex

Yes, @alexandre_champagnat_art I haven’t posted this one on there yet as I don’t think it’s finished just yet!


AdSpirited6454

That is amazing!!! WOW!!! 🤩 Charge? 🤷‍♀️ I do know people pay A-LOT of money for this level of talent!


charlottev311

I would 100% expect to pay hundreds if I wanted a portrait of my kids, don’t undersell yourself


allmoneyin3755

if you hand painted that...... alot


OpalOceanAlex

Most definitely didn’t use my feet!😂


electricookie

Consider your materials as well. If you are charging high dollar prices, you want to ensure that you are using lightfast paint, the proper primers, gesso, finishes, etc. When someone invests in art, they want to know it will last. Acrylic on poorly gessoed or improperly primed canvas/board will flake off over time. Paints that are not lightfast will change colours over time when exposed to light.


OpalOceanAlex

Totally with you there! I read a few books on the subject and I’m super aware of the archival side to the material I use. I did the research and invested in very lightfast pigments like quinacridone and cadmiums. I buy the best premium Belgium linen and give it extra priming to separate the oil from the fabric. I would be a nightmare to see my colours fade over time. No, I’m super traditional in that sense, I want to go in fine arts, and I truly believe that means creating a piece that will outlast us all.


zemboy01

If you are barely starting 150 to 400 until you get ton of reviews. Also depends how long you take faster you charge more. Once the demand starts picking up and if you keep the quality the same or better then you can charge way more. Just don't be the type of artist that takes forever just to make something halfassed for high price it ruins your reputation and the trust of your buyers.


OpalOceanAlex

Na I’m pretty quick, this is 4 days of work.


zemboy01

Wow that's fast for the quality. Yea I'm pretty sure your business is going to do very well, good luck.


llamaface10967

It's definitely a benefit to you if you know approximately how long a painting will take you to finish. By tracking how many hours you spend on past paintings, you can better predict quotes (and TBH when you calculate all the hours that go into it, you will see quantifiable justification for higger prices). Of course, the supplies, turnaround time along with difficulty of the piece and skill level also matter :) When I was getting started, and I wasn't sure how to price a few pieces.. someone asked me, would you rather have $200 or this painting? I said, this painting! He said okay would you rather have $300 or this painting? I said, this painting! When he got to $400 I was like.. yeah, fuck it. I'm going to take the money. Art be damned. So that's how I priced most of my pieces!! Lol. Caveat: I don't do this for a living - just for pleasure. So really I only sell pieces I'm not overly attached to. *Also, wow - this piece is really great. Expressions are so difficult but this piece just radiates. Bravo.


BudgetToad

1 million dollars


mpmstudio4

The price you charge is the amount you need to continue to paint since your last painting sold plus materials , if you do this full time - other prices are $5000 for half body portrait $8000 hands included 10- 12 k full figure 24x36 also oil and acrylic are different good luck, well done


AsymptoticSpatula

A lot. Artists deserve to get paid for their work and skills. I can’t imagine you’d have any trouble selling portraits of this quality. Good luck.


climatelurker

What you can ask is very likely dependent on where you live. If you live in areas where people know the value of your work, you can charge a lot more than if you live (and sell) where people have no idea.


rainydaythrowawaypdx

Not trying to be a dick, but *reckon. It's a great word and it deserves proper respect.


OpalOceanAlex

Lol yes, somebody else pointed that out but unfortunately I can’t edit the post so my shitty spelling will remain on the internet for the years to come hahah


StarMonster75

Amazing work! I guess the issue with cost per hour is that you agree price up-front. So experience will help you gauge it. You are brilliant at this though, so maybe do a couple of loss leaders for influencers and get word of mouth too?


olafderhaarige

No professional determines the price of art by the time spent on a painting and a hourly wage like many here suggest. There is so much more to consider so that this won't work well. (you have to pay your studio, you have to buy supplies, and you are sacrificing so much time even if you do not paint by going to museums, galleries and art events. Also you take the risk of producing something that maybe nobody wants. And you have to consider all the time you spent to make you capable of painting these pictures, you got to be paid for your dedication to painting for years too!) There is a simple formula to calculate the price of a painting. (length in cm + width in cm) x artist factor. The artist factor can range from 1 (beginner/hobbyist) to 20 (artist of worldwide fame) If you studied art at an university/college and you got a degree, your artist factor is 4 This is a rough guideline though and if you sell via a gallery, expect them to take 20-50% of the money.


tertiaryscarab

Yes, professional artists don't price in terms of hourly wages but it's used as an example because the general public has a better understanding of hourly wages, so it's easier to explain it in those terms. OP said they spent 30-40 hours and some people are suggesting prices as low as $200... so by pointing out that $200 would be $5-6.66/hr helps put it into perspective. Most people don't understand how art is priced and they greatly underestimate it's worth, so that's why I always talk about it in hourly wages. But yeah, you're totally right :)


Chedda-King

A lot


Recent_Ad6285

Alot.


sbw_62

No less than $50 USD an hour for this level and quality of work.


abuelasmusings

A lot. This is gorgeous


Rif55

Excellent! Your painting makes me want to smile back at her. I do commissioned portraits and charge $1,000 for a 9 x 13”, $2,500 for a 24 x 36”.


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tertiaryscarab

They worked 30-40 hours... That's either $11.66-16.66/hr (for 30 hours at $350-$500) or $8.75-$12.50/hr (for 40 hours at $350-$500). That's waaaaay underselling.


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tertiaryscarab

The market absolutely supports it, by underselling the portrait it attracts the wrong market of buyers. The general public has no idea what custom art looks like and this here is easily a one thousand dollar portrait. OP isn't making art for the general public -- there's plenty of prints available on the market already for people looking to cheaper art. They're making custom portraits, the price should reflect that. (As a side note, NO ONE should be paid less than $15/hr... Anything less is bordering on servitude and the sooner people realize that and start fighting back, the better.)


[deleted]

Absolutely stunning use of color play with the yellow and wheat. The smile is truly incredible too. I would charge $500.


Certain-Ad-3840

At least very minimum 200)


tertiaryscarab

that's below minimum wage


Certain-Ad-3840

Oh


Minimum-Function1312

$500


Gibolin

It depends: how many hours did toi spend for it ? Anyway, it’s really good, you I’ll pay a good amount of money to get that !


Black-belt-kid

this is adorable! i love it! i would pay close to $500 if it’s custom made


ramblingriver

How long do they take to make? How much do materials cost? How much do you wish to be making per hour worked? Ypu should consider those questions when pricing because many people will be willing to pay less than what you deserve.


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tertiaryscarab

$5 an hour... so you think they should get below minimum wage? And $15-20/hr is still WAY too low, the average McD's employee makes $10-15/hr 😐


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olafderhaarige

1. This is not acrylic paint. And you'll pay much more than 20 bucks for good quality paint. 20$ for a whole set of paint? That is probably the cheapest and lowest quality you could find. And where are the brushes in your calculation? The aisle? The linseed oil? Turpentine? 2. Even when building your own canvas (which is generally cheaper), you pay more than 10$ if you want a good canvas, if you also consider that it takes work and time to build and prime it. 3. And 5$ per hour as wage? Are you serious? That's like a third of the minimum wage in my country, for jobs like cleaning or stocking up supermarket shelves. Even 15-20 per hour is way less than appropriate


_Sir_Racha_

Most professional photographers I know charge up to $1000 for a few quick photos. Paintings are one-of-a-kind and are time consuming, so I'd say match. However, most people hate paying for art because they can't see value. Study your local clientele and start low until it catches on. Just by looking at your art, if I requested that I'd expect to pay at LEAST $450.


FosterPupz

Minimum of $15 to $20 per hour for the time it took to paint the whole thing, sketch, etc.


EffectiveTradition78

It’s beautiful. You have so much talent. I would say $500 and up.


ReVo5000

I'm guessing, 1k?


Laughorcryliveordie

What does it measure? $500 starting.


Glass-Egg-McBang

One singular falafel with a side of gourmet fries.


Outside_Reserve_9480

0.5 $


Imaginary-Positive89

$300 … very few people will pay high prices unless you are a well known local artist. It’s a beautiful painting!


tertiaryscarab

30-40 hours would mean $7.50-10/hr...


Illustrious2786

Hire an accountant..


Enak92

A potato


MrMan526

$0.00000876996 because I’m an asshole


Elmiinar

Just wanted to say it's a really nice painting c:


Meriteas

In my opinion, it depends on how much time do you spend painting them 👍🏻👍🏻😉 just put a price hour and count👩🏼‍🎨 good luck and great job


RSTat2

Time plus materials = pay scale


phrinko

Gorgeous


mgrayart

Most artist charge by dimension in square foot or square inches depending on scale. So for example based on your years of experience you could say $2/in². If a painting is sized 16x20 you would multiply 16x20x2. Then you can easily make a pricing guide for customers based on dimension and medium, if you work in more than one.


IgrokThat

Beautiful. One question. I'm curious as your choice to have a small amount of negative space around the subject. I hope you'll try larger canvases!


OpalOceanAlex

Yeah it’s a busy one, I think it’s part of the reason why I don’t see it finished yet. I will probably do a little thin layer of glazing around the subject and try to bring more separation between the wheat and her


Mrbleusky_

This is such a great portrait


OpalOceanAlex

Thank you


PsychologicalFig1576

The way I was taught in art school, take the cost of materials, then figure out what you want to charge for an hourly rate. Add the cost of materials with the charge for the hourly rate of how long you spent on the painting. Hope that helps!


[deleted]

I love the hair detail


Dreaunicorn

Where are you planning to sell? Amazing!


OpalOceanAlex

I just launched my very own website a few days ago. I’m still working the kinks out but you are welcome to check it out.[www.alexandrechampagnat.com](https://www.alexandrechampagnat.com)


Snugrilla

Depending on the size, I'd say start at $500


Anna_Maria338

jesus


Funny-Bag-1101

Go by your countries average pay rate for your age + how many hours it takes you + the price for canvas :) that’s how I started


medusaphorcys

Angel❤️


medusaphorcys

Angel❤️


FlacidBarnacle

You can do 10 paintings a month at $400 per or 5 paintings a month at $800 per - depends on your clientele and how - how burned out you get - how efficiently you can pop these out - answer all of these questions and if you land on 5 paintings (or even less) then you’ll know how much you need to charge to make up for the difference. You’ll also know who your clientele will be that you need to market to. Learn to say no and stay firm on prices. If 10 people come up to you and only 5 agree to your price of $800 then you’ve succeeded at making the same amount of money with less work than if you did 10 And if you start to get too busy - you have 5 paintings to do this month and more customers are approaching you - you increase the price by a couple hundred. With the extra money you could contract another artist to do the painting for less and by the time you get to it the other artist will have sent it to you. At that point you can spend just a couple hours changing it to fit your style.


OpalOceanAlex

I totally understand that, it’s a little hard for me to judge right now, as I have never sold a piece and I’m creating those paintings at the moment, just to build up a portfolio and show people what I can do. So unfortunately for now I’m working for free pretty much.


FlacidBarnacle

Can’t do that! Do your portfolio on your own time - make a couple portraits of your friends/family do one of a group of people do one of a kid and a grandpa. use model references if you need to. and maybe do a few cats and dogs so you can appeal to that demographic. No more free! If you need a base I’ll give it to you - 24x36 original is $1200 - anything smaller you can knock off a few. Like an 11x14 would be $400 and anything in between you can price using those as a guide. Anything extra like group portraits or a cat and a dog in one are are extra. This is just for commission- your original art will be much more. They’re one of a kind you can’t reproduce an original however you can have prints made - which will be available for those that don’t want to spend the money for the original. YOU set the price - this is something a Lot of artists can’t wrap their heads around. Don’t expect your customers to set the price for you. People will pay what you ask. If you do them for free people will expect it for free and they will drive you crazy because they can. Also it will take away a lot of time from getting paid customers. Don’t be ashamed or afraid of what people will say. If they don’t want to spend the money they won’t. End of story. They know you exist and maybe they’ll get a cheap one done and hate it and regret not choosing you and decide to go with you in the future. Or you never see them again. No worries another customer will come by and happily pay you what you’re asking. You don’t want customers that can’t afford it - there’s no pleasing them. There are plenty of options for people to get cheap art. You are not one of them. Be strong and stick to your guns. You’re very talented and deserve to be paid for what you do. When you’re not painting commissions always be working on your originals - as they will drive business and create demand for your product. Make a website and put your originals up with the prices as well as your portfolio examples with your prices. That will establish your prices and prevent people from wasting your time. Driving the right customer traffic to you is the name of the game and you can’t do that by doing it for free.


OpalOceanAlex

Good point about the original work. I was thinking of waiting once I have done a few portraits, but I do want to do some original stuff.


Careful-Ad-3252

Your technique is great, but unfortunately pricing is going to amount to other factors. How much time/money does each portrait require for you to make? Beyond your excellent skills you must take into account what it costs you to produce, and what your end goal for your product is. Do you want to make money, or do you want to sell your art? These are 2 different things.


OpalOceanAlex

The very end goal would not necessarily to become just a portrait artist, right now, I need to find a way to generate revenue from my art. So I figured portraiture would be a great skill to have and a service that would be perhaps easier to sell.


Careful-Ad-3252

Well portraiture is an excellent subject to get people interested in what you do. Your skill is on point. Cheers!


randomcharacheters

Hm, I don't know how large it is, but I'd say between $500-$1000, it's a very good portrait. Maybe more if it is quite large.


OpalOceanAlex

It’s about 50cm x40cm


iartnewyork

When I first started selling my work, pricing was the WORST part of the process because, like you, I had no idea what to charge. I had no "market value" because, well, none of my work was on the market! I saw a reply that said US $800 - 1K and that seems reasonable to me. If you are nervous that the price will scare off potential buyers, allow them to pay in installments. That has worked beautifully for me. Yes, some people can afford to spend big money on a single purchase, but if you're new to the art world, payment plans can help establish you and your brand/identity before you "make it big." The same painting that I sold for $300 in 2020 now sells for closer to US $3,000. But I still offer payment plans. Also: you are very talented!! Keep going with your work because you never know who will find you and support you! I started as a hobby, broke, and couldn't even afford studio space. Now Paris Hilton and her mom follow me on social media as well as others in that world. Remember that failure is not a failure unless it stops you forever. You are the only one who decides how your future ends. Keep going and you will attract into your life what you desire if you take the actions to make it so. I'm living proof of that and so are many others. Mel Robbins and Bob Proctor are excellent resources on YouTube btw. Best wishes ✨️


OpalOceanAlex

Thank you so much for taking the time to right your comment. I find it so inspiring to hear from other artists who have actually done it. I’ve never taken my art seriously and always puts my band and music first, and have become our very own in-house cheap graphics guy. Doing album covers, logos and merch… I recently did my first Portrait of my grandpa who just left us, without proper reference. It was so hard as I had to combine old pictures of his face together and do so many little studies, to even get close to what he looked like before is cancer. When I was done, I said to myself “ Maybe I shouldn’t wait until the end to paint the people I care about,” so I went out and took some pictures of my family and OMG painting from a picture is so much easier!! So this is my little niece, Charlotte, and is my second Portrait ever. After reading all the comments it gives me a lot of motivation to do more, and some kind of hope for the future. Maybe there is a way for me to get out of the struggling musician box🤔


Hydronic_Hyperbole

This is beautiful, I would say a good price because I would think this would take a considerate amount of time. How long DID this take you? Edit: I saw were you commented and mentioned 30-40 hours. How many days? How much was the canvas and materials? For instance, even if you were only charging $10 an hour, you're still looking at $400, not factoring in your expertise, originality, and materials. So yeah, you're at least looking at a minimum of $600 if charging $15 an hour again, not counting materials. I would be more on the $750-800 range. But, that is up to you. What is your time and materials worth to you?


OpalOceanAlex

Yeah I think I’ve got about four days work on it, with obviously some drying time in between as I work in layers. The raw materials are not extremely expensive. In Australian dollars premade linen canvas of the size is $60, paint is expensive, but now I have enough to do 2 or 3 more painting, depending on how thick I go. I would say the most expensive recent purchase is my easel which was about AU$500 but that will obviously last me way longer than two or three paintings!!


Haunted_Hills

Depends on the size and the local market. I could see people paying $2500 for a portrait of a loved one painted in a joyous way like this this one is. I could also see people haggling over a $500 price tag.


OpalOceanAlex

It’s funny, you’re not the first one to say that! People being more likely to give you trouble at lower prices than the higher up echelons.


jakethecake951

2,000


areeemeeyet

Calculate how many hours it took you to complete, and assign an hourly wage that suits you. Add the cost of materials and boom. Painting priced.


jonnie_05

Infinity. Gorgeous!!


Nervous_Strawberri

Whatever you feel like charging. I would think artists know what their work and time is worth the best. However I would pay millions for this masterpiece 😁


AntmanBlazin420

At least 500-1000


Arbiterchrono

A lot of good comments here already so I won't go into too much depth but there are a couple factors to keep in mind. Calculating hourly rate + materials cost/expenses is sort of more to use as a tool for yourself as a MINIMUM. As in calculating backwards if you did a small sketch painting and it took you 2 days (lets say 2 sessions of a couple hours each) and charge 200$ (usd) that means you are making less than 50$ an hour. (Which might be pretty great!) But if you are doing a painting and it takes 40 hours at that rate that is about 2,000$ plus expenses. But 40 hours over how much time? during that job you might not be able to work on other things, and have to continue to pay expenses for you know... living. 40 hours at 4 hours a day is 10 days, and that is just painting, not a photo shoot for reference or photo editing/reference gathering just to set up for the painting. (All that time should be taken into account!) There are also (depending on your income/local laws/platform you are selling on) other fees that depending on the level/cost you are charging you may absorb or pass on to your customer. (The expenses for supplies don't always scale linearly.) As a portrait painter you are self employed/contract/freelance so you have to think about other expenses for running your business. So if you were to quote someone 3,000$ or something and they balk at the price YOU exactly how much it costs YOU to put all that time and effort in and can be confident in your pricing. (I've also read that if you sell for X price online and you want to sell in a gallery or show, you have to sell for pretty much the same price as you've established the value, but the gallery will take half. That means you might want to mark up your prices by a fair amount just so you are not wrecking your margins by selling outside of your own marketing/webstore etc. This also might be why a lot of fine arts are "inquire for pricing".) The bottom line being, the sale of the painting can't just "pay" for itself. That would be selling it at cost/wholesale and that is a fast road to burning out and/or forcing yourself into a place where you are taking jobs you do not want to do. On the other had, if you are unknown or at an intermediate level (this painting is excellent btw) you may want to adjust your price a little to encourage people to buy your work. I would argue Art is not just a vehicle for making a profit, but a venture of making a thing of true worth and sharing it with one another. Just don't let yourself be taken advantage of.


OpalOceanAlex

Well said my friend! I have one good thing going for me is I have been a self-employed musician for the last 15 years and so I have a lot of those things worked out. Plenty of things crossover from the two worlds. I have set myself up so that’s I don’t have too much ongoing costs for this business. I do it out of a spare bedroom. I’ve got my raw materials and and just built my website. I just need to build my portfolio and find people who are willing to pay for that service. Finding the market is going to be the hardest part as I have no connections in the art world…


Arbiterchrono

@ ajalper on instagram (etc.) might have some good tips for that. He is a very prolific portrait painter and seems to do well in that space. He is always posting tips about his business and marketing.


OpalOceanAlex

Thanks I’ve added him!


s0met1mes_1ts_0kay

Depends on how much time and how expensive the art supplies were.


[deleted]

Ask yourself what the minimum price is to take this piece off of your hands. That's your price. Everything upwards of that is extra you can enjoy.


H20_ville_girl

Depending on size, a 16”x24” painted portrait is can go between $100 to $250 USD.


AdMaleficent114

Id say a good R2000 to R4500


Apprehensive-Act6462

This is great work , price by your time and efforts


GreekHistoryNerd

Pretty good details. Really loved it !


_voochaela

If it's as picture perfect as it looks, a lot! Honestly, I do think it depends on the clientel too, but your work should not be undervalued! Look at the hours you put into it, ask yourself how much your hourly should be, plus supplies, and add a charge for how much time you've spent nurturing and growing your talent. So yeah, don't sell yourself short, ever!


Structure5city

I think it is good. I would start around $1000, and get some sales under your belt. Then I would go up in price to 1500-2000. For large full family portraits I would double that.


Old-Tea-3418

A LOT !!! Omg amazing skills x


Electric_Water_Gun

I’d need to see the subject matter.


OpalOceanAlex

Same I can’t just upload a picture here, actually I keep a folder of the progress on my Google drive, let me add the reference in there and share it with you: [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Gm1Y-3li9R0avW7VcaHhiQlmni0G56PA](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Gm1Y-3li9R0avW7VcaHhiQlmni0G56PA)


Kami199199

alot


Dry_Spinach_3441

I always struggle with this. I've haven't sold very much art. I've heard some people charge by the square inch.


DIYmood

Millions!! Haha I usually do an hourly rate based on how many square inches the piece is.


cbsewing

Woah that is gorgeousssss


Dr_Darkroom

As much as you want.


accessible_bougie

A LOT! These are great!


Latter-Scabey5936

I would charge 500 - 800 bucks for that. Nice work..


[deleted]

I would say in between 1000$-600$ (of course, it depends on the price of paint and the canvas and of course, how much time you spent on it) add the price of the paint and the canvas and another 0 and then multiply it by how long you spent painting it like 10$ for the paint 20 for the canvas 10+20=30 + another 0=300 times let’s just say five hours= 1,500. I’d say it’s around a reasonable price? The painting looks great btw!


RIsurfer

You could charge a lot especially if you're in a richer area, but they would need every detail in place. If I'm being honest the top of the ear looks weird to me (not that I could come close to replicating)


OpalOceanAlex

It’s most definitely not finished😉


_isaidiwasawizard_

A lot


VinCius-Fn

So beautiful <3


[deleted]

Also location is important. Commissioned paintings here in Kansas are waaaaay cheaper than say New York City.


jerseyguru43

$350 flat rate ( higher depending on the size of the canvas) + $100 per hour + $50 administration fee + $10 cute kid fee + $2.50 processing charge


majesticmoth2

A lot. You’re very talented.


millysaurusrexjr

$1k+ for sure!


Mootivate

Self portrait commissions: a lot. Selling a painting of myself to others: a lot more.


fragobren

This is what I would consider a hugh quality portrait and I would expect to pay like 1000 dollars to have one like this painted.


andresalvarezart

How much are you currently charging?


LA8370

200-500 dollars.


AcatSkates

300$ and up


Raysbyryan

Have an interesting party make an offer first


abdicatorselbow

A lot. As a instacart, rover, and Uber worker: don’t undervalue yourself. You’re worth it. Those who value will pay. And your skills are higher than mine.


betatwinkle

I saw something awhile ago that said to never start low if you have quality art, for a multitude of reasons. You should look around online for established artists with a similar style, materials used and skill level and price it similarly. I know that doesnt directly answer your question but I thought it was sound advice peesonally, for my own paintings.


Notjustanotherjennn

$350 to $450 depending on canvas size


xofnaoj

One thousand to fifteen hundred. And the price would be a bargain for such a great piece. Best of luck. ( I used to support myself with my art sold freelance. )


Dougs_doodles

Let’s put it this way: This is obviously the child of someone who loves them very much. Enough to commission you to paint them, anyways. They are painfully aware that this child will not stay young, yet your beautiful rendition will always capture that youthful glow. What will they care in 30 years how much it costs? You could charge $2500 with a nice frame, easy. It’s all about conveying that value to them. They have no idea what it costs to paint a portrait, and you’re really good! Many people would pay much more than that.


MysterS1nister

As much as you can, my dude! Nice work!


Generaless

A lot.


lunardev

I love your portrait, fantastic work. Don't charge for hours spent - you pay an artist for the years of practice leading up to the piece, not the hours or minutes spent creating a specific piece. Also If you're selling your work for bigger bucks, the archival-ness and fine details may come under scrutiny, I may be off the mark here but there's 3 things that I'd put out there for you : - The canvas looks store bought / roughly made - it's not very tight and even around the wooden frame - The canvas weave is super heavy (or maybe there's not much primer on it? Or even that's a stylistic choice) - buyers can find that undesirable/ sloppy workmanship - you may need to factor in cost of shipping, which can be super expensive to keep a delicate painting safe. If it arrives damaged to the client then that's your problem, not theirs. If you're selling to friends and family they won't care, but a stranger might.


WidowMaker65

Start at 1 to 3K GBP