A friend of mine recently critiqued negatively in regards to my original art pricing structure. I was told (in my friends opinion), that I am charging too much for my original artwork. This critique of my pricing structure was then vindicated (also in their opinion) by pointing out to me another artist's website and his pricing structure. Although I value my friends opinion, we're not comparing prices between two, 1972 Ford Pintos. Art is very personal and subjective to each artist's love of their creation. An artist must decide a value for their creation and not base it on other artist's prices. Believe it or not, I don't create my original art to make money. My original art is inspired and that inspiration and creation is not based on financial gain. Its genesis is the love of creation and as such, I can't base my prices on other artists' pricing structures. Do I want to sell my art? Of course! However, its value is based on what my art means to me and not how it compares to other artists' work and the value they place on their work.
For example, my original Prince drawing is currently priced at $11,000. This price was based on the fact that this is not only one of my favorite and most beautiful drawings, it is also based on what I was going through during that time of my life and the sadness I felt about the fact that we had recently lost one of the most talented and creative artists of my lifetime. All of this inspired this amazing drawing/tribute to Prince. Is it expensive? Yes, however, it is also priceless. I will never create another one like it. It’s value will not decrease, it will only increase. This drawing is an original, as was Prince.
However, I still understand my friend's opinion and can relate to those who can't afford my originals. One of the first pieces of art I collected was a limited edition print of one of Tim Wistrom's paintings. Tim is an amazing painter, based in the Pacific Northwest (https://tim-wistrom-arts.mybigcommerce.com/). There was no way I could afford one of his originals, however, I did save my money and purchased one of his limited edition prints.
As a nod to the joy I received from his art (at a time in my life, when I could afford little) I offer limited edition giclée prints of my work. These prints are priced competitively and offer an opportunity to those who can't afford my original art.
My original pieces won't be created again and the part of me that created them will never be returned to me. Being the artist that created the original, it's my choice what to charge and not based upon the opinion of others. In contrast, the prices for my limited edition prints are based upon the competitive art market and the demand for the original piece of art I created, at a price, that is more affordable and is based upon what the market will bear. When you are purchasing art prints, you are not purchasing the original. As an incentive to create demand and to add value for the buyer, all of my prints are "limited edition prints" and after the original run of prints are sold, , they won't be produced again (i.e., when they’re gone, they’re gone) and their value will probably increase as well.
By the way...A few years ago, one of the original Batmobiles used by Adam West on the TV series, Batman! sold for $4.2 million. It reportedly cost George Barris $30,000 to make the original.
