Lino Printmaking: A Newcastle Printmaker’s Blog
Why you need to charge more for your art (And How to Do It)
I'm looking at you - yes you, the artist who wants to 5x their income, start charging their worth, get into more galleries and finally start living the life they’ve been dreaming of.
I know it sounds too good to be true but hear me out. I used to charge £40 for my 40cm limited edition Lino prints, now I charge a minimum of £270. So what changed?
There were a number of things - artists and collectors told me I was charging too little, I wanted to sell through galleries but I was going to be losing money and (and this is the biggest thing) I started to value what I was doing and take myself seriously as an artist.
When you want to create a sustainable art business rather than a hobby that pays for itself, you have to think seriously about the numbers. It’s no good plucking a number out of the air or simply charging what someone else does. That’s not going to ensure you cover your costs and make a decent profit. Do you think that’s what the likes of Frida Kahlo or Georgia O’Keefe would do? Hell no!
Being an artist is a ‘real job’. It can pay you a comfortable income but you have to be strategic.