Ever wonder how performers decide on a price for their imaginative work? Why it usually costs more to buy in the art gallery than in the artist’s studio? Just curious about daily, what professional musicians do? Here are 10 insights from five artists working in a variety of mediums; included are painters, photographers and a ceramicist.
D. S. Brennan Photography
1. Inspiration comes from observing the world around us. “My work is heavily influenced by my background in environmental science,” says Rhode Island fine art photographer Diana Brennan. “My education and experience interpreting the natural world has informed the way I see natural subjects throughout the camera lens. I would like to share this outlook with my viewers and help them to see the natural world in a new manner, to notice details they’d previously overlooked, and to be reminded that nature is both strong and delicate.”
Brattleboro, Vermont, ceramic artist Natalie Blake says, “Inspiration from the outside comes from nature, history, sciencefiction … in general, I’d call it the hum of life”
Cynthia White Anderson, a fine art pet portrait painter in California, adds, “I find inspiration through daily observation of nature, playing with my two dogs and through my pupils. I’m both a studio artist in addition to an art teacher to a wonderful elementary-school-aged artists. My students challenge me so I’m constantly experimenting. One of my newest inspirations is how sunlight filters through an animal’s ears and fur — that I just love trying to capture the ideal color of warmth in almost any color fur.”
Natalie Blake
2. Inspiration also comes from celebrating fantasies, the self and the world. “I get my inspiration for my own art from fantasy imagery and intuitive inspiration that comes through me onto the sketch clay or paper canvas,” Blake says. “I’m searching the inner spiral of what we call intestine — intuition, faith, patience and hope in the creative procedure.”
Brennan adds, “It’s true that it’s yourself you put into artwork. I’m a quiet, joyful introvert, along with also my work will be composed and introspective. My still-life subjects are generally isolated on a simple backdrop, with emphasis on the details and textures. My landscapes and seascapes have a tendency to be uninhabited, almost verging on desolate, and contain soothing natural greens, blues and neutrals. Generally speaking my style will be both quiet and strong, mirroring the highly effective fragility of nature.”
CAROLE MEYER
3. Inspiration, in fact, can come from anywhere. Nice art writer Carole Meyer, who divides her time between Portland, Oregon, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, says, “Inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere. I find I’m quite inspired by my own home. I really like interior decor, and my art is an extension of the art form.”
And from Blake: “My inspiration to run a small company comes from working together with my friends and coworkers to place beautiful things out in the world which people can touch and live with for centuries, ideally. I love cocreating with a gifted team so as to support each other and the neighborhood”
kittypuppytown.com
4. Communication is key — notably at commissioned work. “Matching a customer’s vision to my capability sometimes proves challenging,” Anderson says. “I have discovered that taking time through the first stages of planning the portrait makes a massive difference. It’s important for the customer to understand that first communication is key to make sure that the last painting matches their desires with as few revisions during the painting stage as possible. I like updating the customer along the way through the full process. I will never get enough of the enthusiasm from a customer when they discuss with me that the painting is beyond their expectations”
Juniper Wind Designs
5. Artists are entrepreneurs, too. Philadelphia fine art photographer Nancy “Weezy” Forman shares, “Being an artist, designer and business specialist, my day is made up of wearing many hats. Putting myself out there on social media, , Facebook and Pinterest takes time, in addition to advertising my artwork to magazines and neighborhood meet-the-artist events in galleries and restaurants where I show my work”
Blake adds, “My favourite part of conducting the company is the juggling act I have to do. I feel like I am juggling eight balls in the air so as to maintain the ball of true creativity one out of eight times. Until the day when my company creates its own momentum, then I might need to keep my hands and eyes many facets of the company, shifting from task to task, decision to conclusion, as needed. This merely frees me from the concentrated time for enjoying and dabbling needed to discover that inner voice”
kittypuppytown.com
6. Art is purposeful into the artist and patron. “One of my absolute preferred things about my work is painting a portrait of a beloved pet that has passed,” Anderson says. “I’d like to feel that through communicating with the customer, I can capture the heart and soul of the animal that they loved a lot”
D. S. Brennan Photography
Specimen 652 – $35
There are two best things about having an art photographer, Brennan says. “The first is watching an image on the computer monitor for the first time and recognizing it came out just as I needed it to. There is something so fascinating about that second of creative satisfaction,” she clarifies. “The moment is the pure pleasure I believe when I see that my work resonates with someone. That connection is what it’s all about.”
D. S. Brennan Photography
7. Artwork prices incorporate many things. “prices is based on a combination of time spent, materials and other costs, and the markup/percentage that a gallery or shop will require,” Brennan says. “I generally spend two hours processing images for every one hour spent shooting. I must also cover time for bookkeeping, advertising, sales, order fulfillment etc.”
Even with no gallery markup and promotion, artwork can cost more to create than you might think. “Material costs include the actual prints, framing or mounting, and any packaging required for display or shipping,” Brennan says. “Other costs include matters like the fee to take behind the scenes at a natural history museum. Overhead expenses have to be covered as well, whether or not a one-time equipment update, the recurring cost of printer the booth charge for an art festival”
Natalie Blake
“I consider what others are selling their work for, imagine a price which feels right and go with it,” Blake says. “I then fix pricing for the logical arrangement of dimensions, labour and creative time. My materials are relatively cheap. It’s the labour, including preparation of materials — clay processing and readying, glaze mixing and testing, fixing equipment, ordering supplies etc. — advertising and marketing, application and proposal preparation, client relations, travel expenditures, studio equipment, equipment purchase and upkeep, that costs the studio so much”
CAROLE MEYER
8. Galleries are an entirely different ballgame from retail stores. “prices is tough,” says Meyer. “If you’re represented by a gallery, as I’m — Gallery 903 at Portland, Oregon — your gallery will allow you to set a price. If you’re selling from your own studio, which I also do, then you have to keep your pricing at precisely the same range because it is in the gallery”
Brennan weighs in: “The last piece of the equation is pricing to market through galleries or brick and mortar stores. Galleries typically take a 40 to 50 percent cut of their sales price to pay their own expenses. Retail stores, having to turn a profit, expect to buy work at 50 percent less than retail cost. Pricing is always a tough balance between covering costs and being competitive on the market.”
CAROLE MEYER
9. Making art is enjoyable. “For me one of the most fascinating areas of making art is experimenting with different techniques and new materials,” Meyer says. “I have no training as an artist, though I had been a professional photographer for 35 years; I simply love to try new things. I’m very cluttered whilst functioning — quite cluttered. A typical day painting for me is to get up, brush teeth, don’t bathe, don’t fix hair, put on very messy paint clothing, don’t do dishes, go to cluttered garage and have a blast all day.”
Juniper Wind Designs
Forman loves photographing old, rusted-out trucks which were abandoned on dirt roads and in areas. “The fun part is traveling along with having the ideal gear and looking for old pickup trucks to photograph,” she says. “We create a lot of U-turns and sometimes need to wait some time for the ideal light. I do other images as well, so along the way I may stumble on something which must be photographed. I also have pleasure giving the images titles, which add to their own character — there’s nothing I dislike about what I do.”
CAROLE MEYER
10. It’s purposeful work … but it’s still function. “Creating art is tough work,” Meyer says. “At least for me personally, the toughest part is to receive a painting to the point that I really like it. And if I don’t love it, how can I expect anyone else to appreciate it? I’m never done using a painting before I love it. Regardless of what hard work it is, I want to take action and love to do it. Like ski or mountain climbing or running a marathon, it is all hard work, and if we were not forced or if we didn’t like to do it , it would just be work”
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