I have no fresh art to advertise since returning from Kingston, Ontario… where the fresh dill pickles are plentiful.

Frog Asana, my suggestion for a new Yoga posture: the Frog Pose! Ink drawing on foolscap, tidied with digital pen

How do artists price their work? How do artists price their work honestly, consider themselves as legitimate business persons, still with equal regard to the buyer looking for quality and a fair deal? How do artists price their work reasonably while acknowledging the responsibility we have to our trade; that is, respecting that we, in many cases, base our prices on each other’s? How do artists price their work while competing other artists, when for some, savvy marketing skills yield profits far higher than the quality of their art? (Subjective as art is, we all recognize quality…or do we?). How do artists price their work to sell in a dicey economy? How do artists price their work to sell in a dicey economy that’s dependent on the moral and ethical whims of public spending, and the consequential extremes of society?

I have just reluctantly slashed the prices on my artwork. I’m not going to soften the announcement with a less violent description, because compromising what I feel are well-earned wages, whether adapting to economic conditions or sharing a percentage of it for any reason, is brutal. My canvases are not the only ones feeling the brush of reality these days though; I see, hear and read that a lot of artists are reevaluating how much they ask for their work. Still, I applaud those artists who continue to stand up for the principles of the unspoken “Artist’s Code”, as Homer Simpson might put it. I’m not fond of unsold art accumulating and spilling out into every room of my home though. The hope is that it will resonate with someone else besides me. It must be seen and it must be shared.

Andy Warhol said: “Art is what sells”.
Maybe the average art enthusiast doesn’t know how we derive prices for our work. Maybe many artists don’t stop to dissect their decisions either. The prices of art in galleries worldwide are inconsistent, confusing and often irrational, and who is authorized to price artwork like that anyway? (Ideally it should be the artist). There are so many variables. I’m probably going to miss naming a few here because methods for pricing vary from artist to artist, hobby or career, and if their art is in the form of products or services. Costs of materials and time spent are considered, and price differences with regard those two factors have everything to do with the quality of time spent and quality of materials. Skill levels, concepts, originality, to some extent size, (ie. sculptures, murals), and if it’s for sale in a home studio in Rocky Mount, North Carolina or a high-end gallery in New York City…and most artists will tell you that above all, the final price has to “feel” right. For some strictly structural Art-minds, feelings in art don’t have a leg to stand on – but in actual fact they have two legs (the human thing). The most unpredictable, nonsensical thing is that even if the artist makes an impact while alive, their older work may be worth much less than the most recent, but when the artist dies, prices of their earliest works may increase.

Will Sing For Feathers, 8 x 10 inches, traditional graphite drawing scanned, drawn digitally, printed, process repeated

As we gain experience, confidence toward change and experimentation, and progressively improve our development as Artists, theoretically we should be able to charge more, which is why “mature” artists naturally feel they deserve to be paid more. Case in point: me. The price I initially wanted to charge for “Dancing With Trees” was $7,500.

It seems like a lot to be asking for those unfamiliar with all that painting or other forms of artwork involves. Time seems to be the most accountable factor in producing it. After viewing the artwork and the price, the most common question is: How long did that take you? It’s a fair question, because for most jobs, time input equals amount charged; a predictable amount of money is paid in exchange for a certain amount of labor within a set amount of time. If only it were that simple.
Using that system to price then, Dancing With Trees is my very best work to date, and it took almost 50 years to learn how to paint it. The price was reduced from $7,500.00 to $5,500.00. Assuming I don’t have to share a percentage of that figure with a gallery, and assuming it sells in the next year, that works out to approximately .7638888888888889 cents per hour. I feel confident that it’s worth that much. That’s a wage about as kookoo as a bird dancing for its own feathers. One day someone will come along who has an extremely large wall and agrees that the painting is worth .7638888888888889 cents per hour, and they will buy it. Each year work hangs around with me though, I decrease the asking price as new pieces are created.

Sometimes I wish I was just a bird!
The vocation of Artist is a calling, and a journey of personal growth. Who doesn’t want to do what they love, learn all the time, contribute the best they have to offer to the world, and earn a living as well? Creativity is not only what we love to do; it is a deeply-rooted habit, a compulsion and an addiction of the very best kind. Art is connected intimately with our lives so we continue to make “stuff” no matter what, and preferably, the artists’ judgment of its’ value will be trusted. In my revised Price List I’ve made a good effort to be fair to the buyer while at the same time remaining true to myself.

Post script, 2016: Well, such is life — due to the economy, and a taste of humble pie, I have since lowered the price of Dancing With Trees 03 to $1,100. It’s still substantial enough to pay for my time and material costs, and perhaps more in tune with the reality of art sales expectations these days.

“If we could eradicate poverty and give people a sense of worth,

a great deal of conflict would end. It would not even begin.

Why are we so stupid for so long?”

Bishop Desmond Tutu

Every year when I go home to Alberta it’s someone’s turn to get their walls made over however they choose, kids or adults. Their wish is my command. Renee’s favorite things are “punch buggies” and Jeff, a dog she babysits so much she might as well say it’s hers. Here’s Camille’s done last July.

Grackles, 11 x 10 inches soft pastels and graphite on paper. 20H x 16W” framed.

The Dallas area is notorious for its Grackles. In some places they gather in flocks by the thousands. I’m not exaggerating – they are especially notable during evening just before sunset; bird parties I call them, lined along telephone poles and wires, sitting perfect wingspans apart from each other, and packed full in the trees. Photos can’t capture it all, because the experience also includes their loud calls. It’s fantastic! I love it, but they’re a nuisance in public places like near restaurants and malls. Park your black car under a tree if you don’t mind driving away with a fairly white one when you leave.

Rootosaurus gardenicus, African Mask profile, and Frog. See more Roots Garden Sculptures

There is a time for work and a time to relax…wow. This truck sharing the road on the way back from North Carolina was not parked…this guy was driving 70 mph down the highway! I’m just back from NC then up to Alberta soon, so no new artwork to post until about the end of July.

What Bigleaf Maples Do At Night, 57H x 20W x 4D inches muslin, glue, acrylics on  canvas  wrapped over custom-built stretcher frame. LED light system in back.

Alain, my husband, signed his name on this also, because he spent the entire week designing, soldering and wiring a system of 30 LED lights for the back. He was not impressed with the eight inadequate push-lights I was initially going to use to create this Day- Night  Art. The electric source is a rechargeable 12 volt battery placed neatly in the back, with an easily accessible on-off switch in the lower left corner. He’s not thrilled to ever create another, so it looks like I’ll be learning a little about soldering and electronics, because there are plans to transform the other two canvases exactly the same size as this one. Originally l hoped it could hang in any of four orientations, but that was revised due the battery pack in the back. Thank you Alain for making this piece what it is!

______________________The original blog posts; process:___________________

Nov. 17th, 2008: While finishing the final stages of Sun Shower #4, at this point more study than stroke, I’ve started on the next piece… a bit of mystery thrown into this one just for fun. Hint: Step 1 – Unbleached muslin is painted with glue; place over top parchment paper and turn or lift frequently so it doesn’t stick. Nov. 18th: Step 2– When dry the muslin becomes stiff and can be crumpled, pinched and maneuvered to create 3D textures.

Nov 18th, aft. Step 3 – OK, enough guessing. I have three beautiful sturdy 36 x 12 x 3 inch canvases, hung vertically or horizontally. Each one will have a 3D design of life-sized leaves created with the stiff muslin. This one is of Large Leaf Maples seen on salt Spring Island, B.C. when we were there last summer. They are really this big – about 15 inches across! On these canvases, all dimensional surfaces will be considered; the front, the sides, and possibly some sticking out from the back. Everything will be primed before painting and I love Virginia’s idea to use glue as a resist for the leaf veins. In the above three images the design is still in planning stages.

Nov. 19th – A few thoughts before continuing work: this could be as simple as a sillhouette or painted realistically, still haven’t decided..maybe a compromise of the two, on the abstract side of things. Putting lights in the back could be interesting too, as in the recent Zen Garden #8 but would like to come up with something that does not have a distracting cord.

Nov.21st – Seen here, the leaves have a splotchy base coat of Hansa Yellow Deep, a color chosen because when it is so vibrant when it peeks through built up layers of other colors. Now that the entire piece has color though, I think I prefer the sculptural purity of the unpainted sillhouettes better – something to remember for similar work in the future.

The weight  of tinted primer and each application of acrylics makes the fabric  limp from of the paint, meaning the creasing process needs to be done all over again once it dries, even on successive layers. Because of this I need to slow down and be more gentle with the painting process also. It’s funny how you can overlook things like that when you are ten steps ahead with anticipation for a new project; things always take much longer than you imagine. There is going to be a lot of stopping and starting with this one, which is exactly how overlapping projects occurs.

Also: looking forward to a day-long workshop tomorrow, learning about Encaustic painting with Deanna Wood. Encaustics is an ancient process of painting with beeswax and natural resins. Not usually a “workshop” kind of Artist because I’m too greedy with my work-time, but this is one of those things that’s best learned from an expert. Am bringing a fabric leaf to the class to see how it could be incorporated and if this entire. Large Leaf Maples piece could benefit.
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All posts and comments for this piece are now combined.

Submitted on 2008/11/18 at 11:48am
If you don’t want to see the seed bits in the muslin, you can get unbleached muslin without the seeds.
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Submitted on 2008/11/18 at 1:03pm
OK Lynda, thanks for offering this valuable tip. With regard to what’s in mind for this project, the rawness of the fabric will provide extra texture, but others may want to know that finer quality muslin is available.
Nikki
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Submitted on 2008/11/18 at 1:53pm
Hmmm…looks like a resist process to me. Is it a mask? You are a very adventurous soul!
Virginia Wieringa
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Submitted on 2008/11/18 at 2:06pm
Nope, not a mask or resist…at least the glue wasn’t initially going to be used as a resist, but once again I owe thanks for the tip via a viewer’s comment – thanks Virginia! It’s true, glue can be used on anything as a paint resist, usually on wood it works similar to crackle glaze (ask me how if anyone is interested). I haven’t tried that technique on raw fabric yet though and for what I have in mind, painting extra glue in strategic places could produce some interesting effects. Let’s see…
Nikki
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Submitted on 2008/11/19 at 1:16am
This is great Nikki. I’ll be back tomorrow to see how this project is coming along.
Jim Drury
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Submitted on 2008/11/19 at 4:12pm
Hi Nikki
This is getting really interesting, can’t wait to see the finish project
Elizabeth
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Submitted on 2008/11/19 at 7:07pm
Thanks for staying tuned Dad and Elizabeth, I also can’t wait to see the finished project – it’s always a mystery even if I think I know what I’m doing.
Nikki
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Nov.27: What Large Leaf Maples Do At Night, detail images of 12 x 36 x 3 inches Muslin, glue, acrylics on wrapped canvas. As seen here I imagined the leaves glowing in the moonlight, which took me to the idea of turning it into a piece that can be viewed differently in a dark corner or at night so the sculptural sillhouette shows best.

Since Saturday’s Encaustics workshop I’d like to try another sculptural piece doing the whole thing with Encaustics tecniques, see right sample. Beeswax doesn’t adhere to acrylics though, so another will need to be planned with that medium in mind right from the start.

Kookaburras, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on the wall or display on a flat surface. Most of the Magic Square series are signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition. Seen here, the signature is added digitally on the front.
March 13th, 2009 work progress blog post: This painting could have been left at phase 3, but the decision to give the birds more definition and sense of realism created a whole new set of problems. For example, the composition, which was unbalanced from the start, is now exaggerated and more noticeable, so a third element needs to be added in the upper left corner. Not necessarily another object but color or shape that would shift the weight and attention away from the lower left areas.

	Progress details:

There is a work phase where, once details are added or changes made to one area, every other thing in the picture needs to be brought to the same level of quality: quality meaning style and feeling of the features.  I don’t regret proceeding, but it does mean extra effort to solve all the new challenges, and usually while attempting to solve those new ones arise.  Other professionals would say this is overworking, but it really depends on what your intentions are as an Artist, and what motivates the work. If risks are not taken sometimes, a painting may never be all that it could be. Phrases we tend to cling to like “less is more” are not written in stone; sometimes more is more…learning is a good thing!

In landscapes details are best left for the imagination, whereas painting animals, birds or other creatures, a purpose needs to be clearer. Is the intention to portray character through shape and silhouette? other traits?  specific markings?  Is it the main focus or only a part of the whole? Computer tools are also useful in playing with colors and other possibilities.