If you didn’t know it, May 15 is Writer Worth Day, a day for writers to access what their craft is truly worth. The freelance writing world is full of jobs offering literally pennies for articles. Writer Worth Day challenges writers to charge a fair price for their creativity. Taking inspiration from that, I declare that May 4 is Artist Worth Day.
Part of the reason for such a day is for artists to realize that their art is valuable. Too often in a panic or rush to sell, we lower our prices whether in our store or on an auction site. It becomes a pricing war of who can sell the lowest. Unfortunately, while it may lead to some sales, setting low prices for art lowers the perception of the art’s value.
We’ve all have encountered so-called “sweatshop art” where art is reproduced without the artist input. The creativity is non-existent. However, as much as we scorn it, too often we set ourselves up in the same fashion. The other day, an acquaintance was viewing my website. She remarked how much she liked my work. Then she said, “Right away I can see that you don’t charge enough. That’s original art.”
She was right. When a buyer purchases a piece of original art, they are buying a moment of creativity. That same moment will never exist again. It is a moment of insight into the artist’s thoughts and feelings going into a painting. While prints and other reproductions can be sold, that moment of creativity is not for sale again.
From a practical standpoint, artists especially self-representing artists, know that their costs have increased. The supplies cost more. It costs more to ship–and will increase again on May 11th for those using USPS. If we view our selling as our business, it behooves us to act like a business. If our costs go up, we have to recoup them through our sales.
So, this May 4th, I challenge artists everywhere: realize your worth as an artist. Don’t settle for pennies for your hard work and creativity. Original art is worth the price.
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