Pricing a painting is the studio task most likely to make me suddenly interested in reorganizing brushes. The physical work may have taken weeks, but assigning a number asks a different set of questions. How much did the materials cost? How much time belongs in the price? Is this piece stronger than another one of the same size? What can a buyer reasonably understand without listening to an hour-long explanation?
I do not have a perfect formula. I have a practical method that keeps prices consistent while leaving room for judgment. Because this is a personal art practice rather than a large gallery operation, I prefer to explain the logic instead of pretending the number arrived with the painting.
Start with size, not emotion
The first anchor is the physical size of the work. Similar dimensions should live in a similar price range. A larger panel requires more material, storage, working space and usually more time. Size is also easy for a buyer to compare. It prevents me from charging wildly different amounts for two works simply because I feel more attached to one that day.
I keep a simple list of standard ranges for small works on paper, small panels, medium panels and larger canvases. The ranges are not published as a rigid menu because materials and framing vary, but they give me a stable starting point. When I complete a new piece, I am not inventing a whole market from zero.
Materials matter, but receipts are not the price
I track the obvious costs: panel or canvas, acrylic medium, paint, paper, protective finish, hanging hardware and any frame. Shipping materials are separate because they depend on destination. Good paint and archival medium are not cheap, especially when a surface has many layers.
Still, adding receipts does not produce a fair art price. A painting is not a bag of materials. Two panels can use the same amount of paint and require very different levels of attention. Material cost establishes a floor. It tells me the work cannot be sold below a certain point without turning every sale into a loss.
Time is real, even when it is difficult to count
Mixed-media work has active time and waiting time. I may spend an hour painting, leave the piece overnight, return for twenty minutes, set it aside for a week, then make the final decisions in one focused session. I do not bill every hour that a panel occupies the studio wall, but I keep rough notes about active work.
I include preparation, finishing and documentation, not only brush-in-hand time. Cutting a panel, sealing a surface, photographing the finished piece and attaching hardware are part of delivering a work that can leave the studio. I use time as a reasonableness check rather than a strict hourly invoice. Art made slowly is not automatically better, and a direct painting is not worth less because it arrived clearly.
Consistency is kinder to buyers and to me
A buyer should not discover that a painting of the same size and type was offered for half the price a month earlier. Consistency builds trust and prevents awkward explanations. I review prices as a group, usually once or twice a year, rather than adjusting them after every compliment, sale or disappointing studio day.
This also protects me from underpricing work when confidence is low. Artists are not reliable judges of their own value at the end of a difficult week. A written structure is useful because it keeps a temporary mood from becoming a permanent discount.
What can move a piece within its range
Within a size range, construction can change the price. A framed work on paper has costs that an unframed study does not. A heavily built panel with many collage layers and finished edges may sit above a simpler acrylic piece. A commission also involves conversation, sketches and constraints, so it is priced separately from available work.
I am cautious about pricing by how “good” I think a painting is. If a piece is not strong enough to stand behind, it should not be offered at a lower price. It should remain in the studio, be reworked, or become material for something else. The available page is not a clearance shelf for unresolved work.
Why prices are currently available on request
On the Available Work page, I list price by request. That is not an attempt to create mystery. My inventory is small, and I want to confirm availability, dimensions, framing and pickup or shipping before giving a final total. Local pickup in Fremont is different from building a crate and sending a large panel across the country.
I also prefer a short, normal conversation. Nobody has to perform expertise or promise to buy. A message can be as simple as, “Is this still available, and what is the price?” I will answer with the number, exact details and any delivery costs I can estimate.
Commissions need a different agreement
A commission is not a custom print order. My work depends on layering and change, so I cannot guarantee an exact copy of a previous painting or a precise match to a sofa. A useful commission conversation covers dimensions, general palette, source of inspiration, timeline and the amount of freedom in the process.
I provide a written scope and require a deposit before beginning. The remaining balance is due when the work is complete and approved under the agreed process. If the request requires a style that is not mine, I would rather say so early. A commission works best when someone already likes the way I make decisions.
The emotional part nobody can calculate
Some paintings are harder to release than others. Time is not the only reason. A piece may mark a breakthrough, contain a scrap with personal history, or simply have kept me company for a long stretch. The temptation is to add an “I love this one” fee or declare it unavailable forever.
I try to make a clean choice. If I am not ready to sell it, it stays out of the available group. If I list it, the price follows the same structure as the rest. A buyer should not have to pay extra for my indecision.
A straightforward way to ask
If a work on this site catches your attention, send the title through the contact page. I will reply with its dimensions, materials, price, framing status and pickup or shipping options. There is no sales sequence behind the reply. If the number or size does not work, that is completely fine.
Pricing will probably never feel as natural as mixing color, but a transparent method makes it less theatrical. The goal is a number that respects the work, stays coherent across the studio and gives a potential buyer enough information to make a calm decision. That is not perfect math. It is a workable agreement between the painting, the person who made it and the person considering taking it home.