Pricing Your Work

Later this month, MEG will host Success as an Artist, a six-hour seminar led by Catriona Fraser, owner and director of The Fraser Gallery and an expert on what it takes to develop a successful fine arts career. One of the topics Kate will cover is pricing, and we asked her to share some insights ahead of time. 

MEG: What are some of the factors artists need to consider when setting prices? What harm comes from setting prices too low? Too high?

Fraser: Pricing your work correctly is one of the hardest things to do if you're an emerging artist without a sales history. A common mistake artists make is to ask other artists how to price their work...this leads to unrealistically high prices. Another mistake is to compare your work to what you perceive to be similar work in a gallery. The price of artwork has very little to do with artistic merit, or hours spent on the creative side...the price of art is based, for the most part, on the professional accomplishments of the artist...and size does matter...bigger is better.

Unfortunately, prices for fine art photographs by mid-career and established photographers have been in a steady decline over the last few years...you can buy a limited edition, signed and numbered print by an internationally known artist for under $1,500, so even very well established photographers with gallery representation, museum exhibitions, great reviews and multiple books published can only get $800 - $1,000 for their work...for emerging photographers prices are in the $200 - $400 range.

The main rules to remember when pricing your work are to start low to build your collector base; be consistent with your prices, whether you're selling from your studio or through a gallery; and gradually increase your prices as you build your professional credentials.

Fraser will share what it takes to build your professional credentials and much more at the seminar on March 22nd and March 29th at MEG. Information is available here. To register, please contact Fraser at 301-254-0586 or by e-mail at info@thefrasergallery.com.

Drumroll Please...

At MEG, we believe opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. Opportunities we don’t know about are opportunities we can’t pursue.

For that reason, we are excited to host Success as an Artist, a six-hour seminar led by Catriona Fraser, owner and director of The Fraser Gallery and an expert on what it takes to develop a successful fine arts career. With over 16 years experience as one of the most successful art dealers in the Washington, D.C. area, and an excellent reputation for supporting local emerging artists, Fraser’s presentation reflects her deep experience and connections in the art marketplace.

The information and resources provided in the seminar are useful to artists working in all media, including painting, sculpture and photography. Whether you’re an emerging artist or just want to boost your art career with fresh ideas, you’ll leave the seminar with practical information and advice on what it takes to thrive in today’s challenging arts environment.  Each artist receives a resource packet including a CD of essential documents and other reference materials.

The seminar will take place at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Arts Center in Alexandria, VA over two evenings:

 ·    Thursday, March 22^nd: 6pm-9pm

·      Thursday, March 29^th: 6pm-9pm

 Topics to be covered include:

 March 22

• Professional presentation of your work
 

• How to cut your framing and presentation costs
 

• Framing resources
 

• How to take good images of your artwork
 

• How to price your artwork
 

• How to write a resume
 

• How to build your artistic credentials
 

• Juried competitions and other opportunities
 

• Publicity and marketing
• PR contacts and art critics
 

• How to write a press release
 
 


March 29

• Regional arts organizations
 

• Galleries
 

• Gallery/Artist relationships and contracts
 

• Outdoor arts festivals, display panels, tents, selling your work, credit cards
• Alternative funding, grants and residencies
 

• Museum acquisitions of your work


The fee to attend the two-night seminar is $85.00. To register, please contact Fraser at 301-254-0586 or info@thefrasergallery.com.

Several MEG members have already reaped the benefits of attending past Fraser seminars and you’re likely to see at least a few of us in the seats this time too. Hope you’ll join us!

More information on Fraser and the seminar, including feedback from previous attendees, is available here.  


Small Works, Big Advice

MEG’s December show, Small Works, was juried by Catriona Fraser, owner and director of the Fraser Gallery. Fraser represents the work of local, national and international artists with an emphasis on contemporary realism and photography. She spent some time at MEG last week sharing her thoughts on both the Small Works show and submitting to juried exhibitions. Some excerpts include:

Do you view works differently when you view .jpgs vs. physical prints when you are making selections for an exhibit? No. Photographers worry the most about this, but they shouldn't. The elements of a good photograph are visible whether it’s a .jpg or a print. Experienced jurors realize that there may be slight differences in color or tone because of the monitors they're using to view the work, so those issues don’t have much of an impact.

(c) Eric Johnson

One of Eric Johnson’s images in the Small Works show is a good example. I loved his photograph “Collection of Baskets.” It reflects a wonderful use of light and shadow, and has great composition...all of these elements come through whether it’s a .jpg or a print.

Are you ever surprised when you see an exhibit after you’ve selected images via .jpg? The images themselves never surprise me because I know they are going to be good. The presentation of the artwork is another story. Poor printing, unprofessional matting and framing, use of acidic materials, poorly cut mats, dirty frames, scratched plexiglass, metallic signatures on prints, the copyright symbol after the artist’s name...all of these things will have a negative impact on the work.

Typically, the only downside between the submitted .jpg and the finished print is when the image has been printed too large for the file size, so the print looks soft and pixelated.

Are there any common mistakes photographers make when submitting work to jurors? A big one is submitting too many similar images. If the juror doesn’t like the first one, the odds are high he or she isn’t going to like any of the others either if they are in the same vein. If you’re submitting a portfolio for consideration, you absolutely want consistency; if you’re submitting 3 or 4 images to a juror for an exhibit, you want variety in subject matter/theme.

For more insight from Fraser, consider attending one of her “Success As An Artist” seminars, held throughout the year. A number of MEG members have attended in the past and found them very useful.

Small Works can be seen through December 31, 2011 at Multiple Exposures Gallery, Studio 312, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA.