Pricing Art is an Art
The video mentions doing your homework, assessing the venue where you are showing, and pricing by the square inch, among other nuggets of good info. I feel it's worth your time if you are in need of some guidance in this area. The video also touches on the balance of under pricing as well as over pricing, having a consistent strategy and pricing for different sizes of paintings. There is also some interesting thoughts on sculptures. For more on Jason Horejs and Xanadu Gallery, check out the excellent Red Dot blog here.
From the "For what it's Worth Department..."
Framing. You have a painting for sale in a gallery. The art gallery has a 50% commission. (the math is easy). Your frame cost $200. The painting sells. You get your commission check. If you don't double the price you spent on the frame, you just lost 50% on that frame. For example, to get all the money back you spent on your frame($200), you would have to account for a $400 dollar frame in your sales price. I am not sure what the perfect answer is here, but an artist needs to be aware of it. If you don't account for it, in this example you are losing money on every frame when a piece of art sells.
Materials. Damn, that oil paint isn't cheap. If gold goes down any more I might want to stock up on cad yellow for my retirement fund. What does it actually cost in real dollars to produce a painting? How about that sculpture? Every "business" from a lemonade stand to a silicon valley mega-tech needs to know what their costs are. An artist is no different in this aspect. Here again, selling that piece of art in a 50% commission arrangement needs to be considered.
Feeling Good. It's a terrible feeling to sell a piece for less than you know it's worth. Don't sell yourself short. This art thing is hard work. That doesn't mean you go way overboard in the opposite direction. Like the video says, do your research. Give it some real thought, and make sure you price your art based on knowledge and careful thought. Feel good inside about where your prices are and be consistent.