"Lucas Family Cabin" 18x24" Acrylic on Canvas (commission). Sold($400.00)
[Although house portraits are very difficult, the piece was quite small and I was new to them when I took this job on, and acrylic paint isn't as pricey as oil, so I had quite a lower price.]
So continuing on my trend of talking about the transactions surrounding art, I thought I'd write a shorter bit that breaks down a typical system for charging for commissioned work.
Commissioned Work: work that an artist does SPECIFICALLY for a client, of subject matter directly chosen by the client, and with artistic restrictions designated by the client.
It is really important to understand that fundamentally, a commission is a piece that an artist wouldn't necessarily choose to do. It is a piece that a client really wants painted, and that an artist is doing not for artistic fulfillment, but rather just for money. As such, there are some different things to think about when talking price.
1. Material Cost- With commission pieces, artists have to charge for their materials. If you're paying a good artist, you want top quality professional materials used, and that will drive your price. Typically, oils are most expensive, with acrylic and gauche coming in second. Watercolor and pastels are third, with pencil or charcoal being last.
"Cape Cod House" 16 x 20" Oil on Canvas (commission). Sold ($1,200.00)
[This piece was a bear to complete in oils, and was done rushed with very specific instructions, so the price was fair.]
2. Size- Bigger paintings take more time to paint, simple as that.
3. Subject Matter- Portraits are the most intensive thing to do for commission, as they must be exactly precise. Architectural pieces are also difficult to do for the same reason.
"Three Panels" 1x1' Acrylic floats. (commissioned). Sold ($400.00)
[This piece was of easy subject matter and was done for dear friends, who had already bought art from me, so I was able to lower the price a lot.]
4. Expertise- This is that strange awkward category that non-artists sometimes have trouble with. How do you pin a value on all of your training, practice and study? The time you've put into mastering your craft? This one is a tough egg to crack, and I'll address it later down.
"Siren" 9x12" Acrylic on Board. (commissioned) Sold ($100.00)
[This was done for my best friend, hence the very low 'family' discount.]
"Dragons" 22x30" Charcoal (commissioned). Sold (traded for art pieces)
Many artists get their price for a commission by using the famed "Square Inch Price" system, in which they charge per square inch (usually somewhere between $3-7 per square inch). When artists charge like this, it means they aren't charging price breakdowns for things like materials or time, but rather one flat fee. This can be really helpful for a buyer to understand and grasp, but can end up screwing the artist on tougher subject matter, like a portrait. In my opinion, this comes with the job, and should be a good standard for charging.
And for those of you who don't charge by square inch, the first three breakdowns are pretty simple- charging for time, materials and size is easy enough, but how to deal with Expertise? I know some artists that simply double their final number to cover for that, but myself, I find this a bit unnecessary. I like to remember that you don't have to get rich off of each painting. Usually, I set a base rate for paintings based on size (100/300/600) and then use that to help determine the extra expertise cost. It's not foolproof, but it doesn't have to be- it can change as I change as an artist!
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