Recently I have had some of my students, clients and other artists ask me, "How do you price your artwork?" This has never been my favorite topic, as there are so many variables to consider when discussing this question. l know that there are other artists out there that may not agree with some of my opinions and methods, but keep in mind that l am no expert and that there are many ways to price your artwork. These are just some of my opinions and methods that work for me. I truly believe in order to understand how the art market works and where your art would fit in, you need to know the art by other artists that is for sale in your area. So l would strongly suggest you get yourself out there, and see what is going on in the art world around you. Art is generally priced according to certain criteria, and these criteria have more to do with what’s going on in the market place then you as an artist. People like galleries, buyers and collectors put dollar values on art. You might think your art is worth one thing and the market might have another idea on what it really would sell for. When l started selling my art, l really didn’t give much value to my work nor thought to what artwork was selling in my area, this was a huge mistake. All l knew when l started selling my work, was l wanted to create art in hopes that people would like it. Although this is important and yes l wanted my artwork to get out there, l wasn’t selling it at my potential market price nor putting enough value in my artwork, until Martello Alley Gallery started representing my work. I have been selling my artwork at a Gallery now for over 2 years and the market can surprise you from time to time. In saying this, l think if you stay prolific, offer fair market prices for your artwork you can succeed. I wanted to sell my work at prices that made sense to me and to my potential clients, and l also wanted to be consistent in my pricing. I wanted my prices to be fair, in comparison to other artwork selling in the area. You need to be objective about your art and your experience. In order for your prices to make sense, you need to be honest and objectively evaluate how your art measures up to other art out there. In order to make valid comparisons, you need a good idea how the quality of your art stacks up against those of other artists, especially the ones who you will be comparing yourself too. So if you have been doing art for 2 years, try not to compare yourself with an artist who has been doing art for 20 years. I think you get the picture. Being honest like this, is not always nice but it is necessary to start selling your work. It is also important to base your pricing on facts not your feelings. I try not to get emotionally attached to my work, and put an emotional value towards my paintings, instead l think of the market value. So here is the method that works for me. I pay myself per hour and then l add the cost of the materials. (Your worth per hour $ value x hrs spending doing your artwork + materials = painting price.) There are other methods out there, but this method works for me. I believe that this method would work great for those who have little or no sales experience, and who haven’t sold much art. Once you start to consistently sell your artwork, you could then revisit your prices and increase your dollar per hour value. I also take into consideration when selling online or out of my studio that these are going to be wholesale prices, and that selling out of a gallery is retail prices so l do have to factor in the expense to sell out of a gallery. As an artist l think it is important to be able to offer your art to everyone, and not everyone who really likes your art will be able to afford it. So having affordable options, such as a drawing, a print or a small painting is important. This is how l look at it, your art is essentially your signboard, or a banner, the more art you sell, the more places you post it, such as social media, then the more people see it, the more you are getting your name out there and the better known you get. People want to make sure that they are spending their money wisely, so if your artwork is priced fairly, and people are buying it then your doing the right thing. I am interested to hear how you price your art, ? Please feel free to comment as l would love to hear from you. Your support is appreciated so please don't forget to visit my Instagram and Facebook page, links are down below. Happy painting and selling. Have a Beautiful day. Alice
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I kept stumbling upon advertisements for these Hootech Watercolor brush pens on Facebook, and Instagram and they all varied in price. After contemplating, curiosity always gets the best of me so l decided to go looking for them at a low price and l found a set on eBay for $17.24 Canadian and the price included free shipping, so l bought a set. They didn’t exactly arrive visually appealing as the packaging they are stored in was flimsy and l knew right away that they may not be a good find. But keeping optimistic l decided to try them out. The 20 colour set came with a water brush, which is a brush that you can fill with water and use for watercolours, so that was a nice bonus. I tried to do some research on these “Hootech Watercolor brush pens” with no luck. I couldn’t find any info on the company, or where they come from, but some vendors advertised that they are Non-toxic, water-based pigment ink, odorless and washable. I am assuming that these are a knock off product with little info on them, and l suspected before trying them that they might be of inferior quality. I decided to try them on Canson cold press 140 lb smooth watercolour paper. I thought by choosing a smooth paper it would be easier to blend the colours.
When first using them l found that they had little to no ink coming out of the brush pens. They were inconsistent and blotchy. Even though l was using smooth paper it seemed like the ink was running out and l really had to work them to get more ink. Yikes…right away l was frustrated and disappointed with this product. I could not image using them on a bigger drawing, as l drew a small tulip and found that the ink was not working right. I did like that l was able to use the water filled brush on top of the ink as this helped smooth out the colours and blend them together. Although my tulip drawing was small the colours did not work together as much as l wanted them too. As far as learning how to use them it wasn’t hard, but l was definitely disappointed in the quality even at $17.24, but the saying is “You get what you pay for” right? What l did like about them was they felt like l was using a marker only it was watercolour and l would like to find a better quality set of Watercolour brush pens so that l can see the full potential they have in a medium. I am not sure if l got a bad batch, but in my opinion, overall l rate this product two thumbs down. If you have any suggestions or brands of watercolour brush pens that you like, please let me know as l would love to hear your thoughts. Have a beautiful day, Alice Hello Friends, I am so happy that you have decided to return and read my new blog review on the Marco Renoir Fine Art Watercolor Pencils. I am in no way being sponsored to write this product review, l purchase all my art products. These Watercolour pencils are part of the Marco Renoir line and are marketed as a higher end, artist grade product than the Raffine student grade line. According to some of the reviews l have read, this “Marco” Chinese based product also offers a student grade coloured pencil line called Raffine, which has become popular among the colouring community. I decided to order the 72 watercolour pencil set on Ebay and to my surprise the prices of all the sets available in 24, 36, 48 and 72 were very competitive and reasonable. Sets are also available on Amazon. I was visually surprised at the tin box when it arrived, that was double layered with pencils. I found the trays that the pencils sit on flimsy, but the pencils were beautiful and they have colour matching bases with wooden barrels. The colours were spectacular and l could not wait to see how they performed. I would recommend creating a colour swatch before using them, as not all the colours shown on the barrel matched the coloured lead when used. Some were right on and others close but not exactly the same. These watercolour pencils have an oil based core that offers a creamier application that can handle blending when wet or dry. I was able to apply these dry on dry than wet the colour or dry to wet making blending a breeze. They were a joy to work with and l loved that l could continue layering with the colours. So many techniques are possible with these watercolour pencils. The colours blended consistently and this gave me a whole new range of colour choices when blending. I did not need to press hard on the paper, just a light touch was all l needed to apply the colour. Wow, the colours were vibrant and high in pigment. The lead on these pencils were soft, they had a buttery like feel to them when laying the colour down, making fine detailing a bit more challenging than a hard lead pencil. I absolutely loved how soft the lead was and they were so easy to work with. The set also came with two sharpeners and a brush. I used the brush it came with to create my little Grinch and l found it worked well, although l have my personal favorites that l would use instead of the one that came with the set. I was also impressed at how easy it was to sharpen these watercolour pencils without breakage or the lead crumbling. Hope you enjoyed my review. Stay tuned as l will be reviewing the Marco Renoir colored pencils soon. Have a beautiful day, Alice Melo Click on the below links to view my Facebook and Instagram page. Hello Friends and welcome to another blog review. I have been really excited to try the Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor set for a while now. Kuretake has been around since 1902 and they are a manufacturer in Japan that have grown into a brand of quality artist tool for fine art and illustration. I watched a lot of reviews on this product, and after some researching, l was convinced that l would love them, so l went shopping online and found a variety of sets. I purchased the 36 colour set, as they offer great colours that l can’t find in other manufactured watercolour pan sets. They were incredibly reasonable to purchase and you can find sets on Amazon and Ebay. I love how beautifully presented the packaging was, and the size of the pans were large, which made it easy when using a larger brush. You can also purchase the colour pans individually which appealed to me, as l tend to use certain colours more than others, making it easy to replace instead of purchasing another complete set. I did not find these watercolours as traditional in transparency as other brands l have tried, but they were rich in pigments. There was little effort to lift these when putting a wet brush to them and there was plenty of pigment if you wanted to add extra water. No need to spray them with water prior to using. I also didn’t need as much layering to get that punch of colour l needed. These are definitely more opaque then many other watercolours l have tried and l found them very easy to blend with no harsh lines. I was wowed by the candy looking colours. They are AP approved, the watercolour is kind to both the human body and the environment, so it is safe to use. I did notice 2 cons, the set did not come with a mixing tray, which is not a biggie for me, you can just use disposable pallets or any other pallet you may have including an old plate, and l could not find enough information on the light-fastness of this product. Overall l have to say that l am thrilled that l purchased the whole 36 colour set, as who would not want all the rich colours, including some metallic ones. I think this brand would be perfect for both artistic professionals as well as crafters. If you like a having a watercolour effect and a gouache like effect then you will love these. Until next time my Friends. Have a Beautiful Day, Alice Melo I had one of my art students in my art class ask me if they should sign their art work, and l thought this would be a good opportunity to blog about it. Signing your art is an essential part of the creative process. The moment you apply your name to a piece of your art, you declare it to be officially done and ready to go public. No matter what your signature looks like, what form it takes or where you put it, in my opinion no work of art is complete without one. I don’t know many of my artist friends who don’t sign their work although l am sure there are some out there who don’t. l myself have some guidelines l follow when signing my work, l thought l would share them with you. Do you want to jeopardize your art's future simply because you don't sign your art or you sign your name in such a way that people have difficulty reading it? I doubt it I have an autograph that l use that is not to eye-catching as l don’t want it to distract from my artwork, it is simple and very legible, my signature is the same no matter what art work l do. Keeping your autograph consistent for paintings, drawings or prints is important so that others will eventually come to recognize and identify your style. I tend to sign my work right after l paint it. While the paint is still wet l sign my name on the bottom right corner of my paintings, or where ever you’d prefer to sign. This will ensure the tones are evenly matched with your painting, thus your signature is not going to stand out to much. This is just my own personal opinion and l am aware that other artists have different views. I use the same medium on my paintings when signing my name. If l do a drawing l usually sign my name with a micron fine marker, but some artists will always use the same medium to sign, l think it’s all about preference. Don't sign on top of a varnished painting because the signature will look like it was added later or more as an afterthought than a statement. Signatures like that are more prone to being questioned. Varnishing is a finishing process to a painting that should be done after a painting has been signed. If you choose to use your initials, it is important to include your full signature on the back of your artwork, this way your work is identified. Choosing a signature that people can actually read is always easier to remember, so signing your artwork just makes sense. Art buyers, critics and the general public will eventually come to recognize you and your art by just viewing your signature. Date your art. You may not think this is important now, but after you've been making art for several decades, you'll understand why. If you don't want to date your art on the front, date it inconspicuously on the back or even on the edge. Obviously, dating your art minimizes any guesswork as to when something was completed. The better known you become, the more important dates are for anyone interested in your evolution as an artist and that includes the curators. Have Beautiful Day,
Alice Melo Hello and welcome back to my blog, today l am blogging about the "New Refined Holbein Artist Watercolours". I am in no way sponsored to write this review and l purchase my own art materials. I am not a professional reviewer and this review is based on my own personal opinions. l hope this product critique will inspire you to try new watercolours. l have decided to experiment and try 3 different brands. I researched a few different watercolour manufactures and choose 3 that offered different price points, but all had great reviews. Holbein is the first brand that l am reviewing. While l was researching the Holbein brand, I found out that it was established in Osaka Japan since the 1900’. Holbein is a Japanese manufacturer described as offering high quality artist paints. You can find sets of this brand on Ebay or Amazon for a reasonable price, but l was not patient enough to order them online and wait for there arrival, so while on a road trip, l was able to purchase the 24 set of 5ml tubes at Wallack' Art Supplies in Ottawa for $119. Individual tubes are also available to purchase. The staff at Wallack's were so helpful and friendly, l will for sure be going back, click on the link below for the Wallack's website. These paints easily glide out of the tube, so be careful not to squeeze the tube to hard. They are moist and easy to mix with water and achieve the right amount of paint to water ratio. I would recommend depending on the painting you are doing to use dollops of paint at a time. If you squeezed out to much paint you just need to keep the paint dry and closed off to ensure you can reuse them again as they are activated with a drop of water easily. I also purchased a Mijello palette that can be closed off to keep the paints dry. If you have left over paint on your palette try to smooth them out when drying so that you don’t have clumps of solid paint, as l think it’s hard on your brushes. I would recommend flattening out the paint making it easier to reactive. The 24 Holbein watercolour set that l purchased in the 5ml tubes came with the following colours Crimson Lake, Rose Madder, Vermillion Hue, Juane Brillant No 2, Permanent Yellow Lemon, Permanent Yellow Deep, Yellow Ochre, Yellow Grey, Cobalt Green, Permanent Green No 1, Permanent Green No 2, Terre Verte, Viridian Hue, Compose Blue, Cobalt Hue, Ultramarine Deep, Prussian Blue, Cerulean Blue, Mineral Violet, Light Red, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, and Chinese White. I found them to be very highly pigmented, hence a little goes a long way. They were smooth, they had consistency on the flat washes and the texture of the paper wasn’t as obvious. They are vibrant and intense in colour, which l was in awe off, eye candy for sure . Of course they are lighter when dry, but l found the colours pop in the work that l have done thus far. I also found the Holbein colour chart, (link below) and according to the permanency rating, l found most of the colours indicated "absolutely permanent" or "permanent", out of a huge colour selection offered only a few were "moderately durable". Now l did find it a bit odd that the wording used was "permanency rating" and not "light- fastness", although after reading some other reviews they are regarded as a high quality brand. These are not the most affordable watercolours out there, but if you are looking for what l believe is an professional artist-grade material then l definitely recommend the Holbein brand. I would suggest purchasing them on line to gain a better price point. Stay tuned as l will be reviewing two more watercolour sets. The Mijello Gold Class Watercolor set of 7ml tubes and the ShinHan Professional Artist Grade Watercolor 30 paint set of 7.5ml tubes. I am curious to see how they all compare. In my opinion, if you are looking for a first rate, top quality product then get yourself a set of the Holbein watercolours, you will not be disappointed. Do you have a watercolour brand that you favor? If so l would love to hear from you.
Have a beautiful day. Alice Melo I love trying new mediums and products, and Pebeo Huile de’Art brand oil paints have been on my list of art products to try and review ever since l saw them sold at Michaels Arts and Crafts store. I have to say that l have some mixed reviews about these oil paints. Although they caught my attention for the colours offered and price point, I was a bit skeptical to try them, as they are considered student grade oils and the price point was too good to be true. I have yet to be fond of a student grade oil paint, until now. Some of the colours rated poor in Light-fastness, but the majority rated good or very good according to the characteristics of Huile d’Art colour chart offered on the Pebeo website. I was not disappointed on the consistency they offered, these oils were buttery in texture, the colours were vibrant and the pigments thinned out well without any issues. Keep in mind that these are considered student grade oils and in my opinion, after using my professional grade oils such as Gamblin brand, there is no comparison. I did find they worked well mixing with other brands especially the white, it was nice and bright, it was creamy, and perfectly opaque. I find typically with student grade oils the pigment and oils are often separated in the tube. This was the case with this brand as well.
The Pebeo Huile de’Art brand 37mL oils are available in 60 colours. What l did like about them was the quick drying time. It does vary on the thickness but on average its 2 to 7 days to dry. For people who want to try oils this is a bonus as you don’t need to wait weeks to practice and finish your work. If you are looking to try oil painting and don’t want to invest a great deal of money, l would suggest giving this brand of oils a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Have a beautiful day. I have said this before, you can be the best artist out there, but if people don’t know who you are or can’t see your artwork, you are limiting your audience. Social media is extremely important. You need to understand what each platform does. Just because there is a social network, doesn’t mean that you need to be marketing on it. You need to understand what platform will work for you, how to use it and figure out whether it makes sense for your business or promoting your work. You need to figure out who is engaging with your content? and where should your artwork live, to better chance a connection with your audience.
Facebook and Instagram are my choice of platforms. I found that both engage my viewers. It allows me to add content that will encourage my targeted audience to click and engage with me. These two platforms are social media powerhouses, and can help build a strong presence allowing people to follow me and my work. Once l determined my platforms, it was time to build my profiles. It was important for me to keep my branding consistent with who l am and what l provide. I also decided to create my own art website, www.alicemelofineart.com that allows me to sell my artwork, provide a viewing platform, engage interest, and blog. A complete profile is necessary when trying to attract a good following, allowing you to share content, and add website information. It’s important to be able to link your social platforms together. Start analyzing what the best time is to engage with your audience and see which posts get the most likes and comments. You need to pay close attention to these details. I know it can take up a lot of your time but it will be worth it as you build your audience. Posting videos is also becoming extremely popular, this is a marketing tool that l am not completely familiar with, but l am hoping to utilize this tool in the near future. It’s also important to analyze your competitors, what platforms are they on? and what is working for them? What content are they sharing? And how often? It is also important to connect with influencers, people who you follow and admire. By commenting on their posts, sharing and engaging conversation with them you are bound to get more people seeing your work. To get noticed you need to network with people in your community and ask questions, get involved. Visibility will land you more followers making you an influencer yourself. I started blogging a while ago. This is something that can be overlooked, but l have found that by blogging on my own website my name and social accounts have been noticed online. This will also allow you to build a reputation in your own community. I try really hard to blog at least 3 times a month and add valued content to my followers. This also allows me to better my writing skills. The more content you add the bigger following you gain, so l am hoping to bump up my blogging if l can find more time. Be consistent. Your followers need to be able to count on you for a daily does of inspiration or guidance. Share awesome content, this not only will help you build your brand and allow your personality to shine and connect with your followers. You need to remember to share visually and make your posts appealing to your viewer. Don’t just share your own content either. I like sharing other content that can add value to my branding, and will help promote me, such as sharing content of my other fellow artists and friends. Remember that what you post will determine the trust of your followers. Be true to who you are and what your goals are. Have fun, and seek help when needed. Have a beautiful day, Alice Melo Inspiration is all around us. l admired these tulips while having a cup of coffee, when inspiration struck me to paint them.
Wherever you are, notice your surroundings, what stands out? If anything around you drives emotions within you, then chances are it will do the same for others and it’s probably a good source of inspiration. It’s important to take moments throughout the day to reflect on your goals. You should be relaxed and release all your troubles, this will give you time to think about what it is you want to start working on. My inspiration comes to me best when l am giving myself time to relax, breath and think. I try not to put pressure on getting inspired. I usually have a notebook or sketchbook with me at all times. Capturing your inspiration and jotting it down on paper or a sketchbook, gives you the opportunity to branch out from your thoughts. I find its best to not over think things right away. Hold onto your idea, jot it down and then make it complex at a later stage if needed. Most of my inspirational concepts are found in my own memories, these are the best ideas because they are found in my mind. I don’t have to go anywhere to find it. Listen to music, enrich yourself. All ideas start like a tiny seed in a person’s mind, watch videos, read books, and try new things. If you have an idea that you find interesting or emotional then close your eyes and image yourself observing this idea from the outside. See the idea as a whole and pay special attention on how it makes you feel. I try to set myself attainable goals, and you should too. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Personally l find it important to finish a painting, l feel accomplished and l have something to show for my efforts. Utilizing my creativity and embracing my source of inspiration, finding a place for it in my work or using it as an extension for other works, is so satisfying. Try not to become overwhelmed. This is probably my biggest issue. I try to stay as focused and organized with my ideas. Most importantly be honest with yourself and the best source of inspiration should be you. Your work will lack value if you are not staying true to yourself. Find what makes you happy and just feed off it. Have a Beautiful day. Alice Melo Hi everyone, and welcome back to my blog. Have you ever looked at a painting and wondered what kind of work space the artist possess to create such wondrous works of art? I do all the time. I know that it’s hard sometimes to look inside an artist’s studio, but l figured if l am curious then you must be too. This blog is a way of allowing you into my art studio, so take a seat and grab a coffee and l will show you around my happy place, and give you a few organizing tips. It is really important for me to surround myself with objects that l love. Scented candles, flowers, plants, art and great listening music. What l listen to all depends on my mood that day. Although l do have some favorites, which can vary from 80’s and 90’s to jazz, and classical music. I do post some of my favorite songs on my Facebook Art page. If you have a second, click on the link below and like my page to follow my progress and weekly posts. Inspiration stems from just about anything, and l find music feeds me energy to create and stay inspired. I tend to paint late at night. Weekend’s l am usually busy with family life or teaching my painting classes, so finding time to paint can be challenging. At one time my studio was really disorganized and jammed full of my art supplies, l just felt agitated at times because l couldn’t find what l needed. It was time for me to put on my thinking cap and figure out a way to give myself more space and organize my ever growing art supplies. I needed storage for my paints, canvases, and other supplies. I knew just the person for the task to help me. I am truly lucky to have such a handy and creative hubby. I gave him some design ideas of what l wanted and he surpassed my suggestions and expectations. My hubby designed, built and painted my canvas and storage shelves, MDF board, was the most economical material to use, and TADA! We had some MDF board left over so with precise measuring and binder clips, he built me storage for my oil paints and l can now access them easily, plus utilize my wall space. It is such a fabulous room now and l can easily see what l need to replace when l run out of supplies. He built me an entire space that l can call my Happy Place. If you haven’t noticed by now l have a small addiction to paint brushes LOL. I have them everywhere in my studio. Keep in mind that l have been painting for 20 years and l take care of my paint brushes, so it doesn’t take long to accumulate a collection. I use a folding screen behind my easel to protect my walls when l airbrush or paint. I use an inexpensive area rug under my easel and painting area, this way from time to time l can replace it with a new area rug and freshen up my work space. Lighting is also a really important element in my creative space. My wonderful family surprised me with a floor style OttLite, and it makes all the difference. My eyes are not strained and it is outstanding when l am detailing. Q-tips are ideal to use if you need to clean up a mistake, I keep them at my easel for quick access.
I always have a cup of coffee or tea beside me, but l have been lucky not to use it as a rinse basin for my brushes. I hope you have enjoyed viewing pictures of my Happy Place. If you have any great storage or organizing ideas l would love for you to share them. Feel free to leave me a comment. Have a Beautiful Day. Love Alice |
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I am hoping that l can be inspirational and informative. I feel that paying it forward is a great way to live. Archives
May 2023
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