Pricing per square inch

[Peggy Baumgaertner]

Peggy, could you explain the concept of seperate pricing for corp., children etc. How do you explain that to the clients?

Mike,

Not a problem. Children are much smaller than an adult, and no one has questioned that a child's 3/4 portrait would be less than an adult male 3/4 portrait. The average size of a child's 3/4 is 28x34. The average size of a corporate 3/4 is 34x42.

Peggy

[Chris Saper]

Hi, all,

I didn't mean to give the impression that pricing by the square inch should be an invitation to have the client get out the calculator! Using a square inch guideline is simply for my own needs. I think that what the client needs to know is that your price is based on the amount of time you will need for the painting. (And that, no, time sheets are not appropriate!)

I give the client a range of sizes/dimensions as to what to expect at a given price, and let them know that the exact dimension and shape are decisions they should leave up to me based on the painting's overall design. (Of course sometimes they have exact needs, ie an antique frame, a fireplace wall of a certain size, and then I design what will work.)

When you get down to it, all pricing is pretty arbitrary...it's just helpful to have some internal consistency.

Chris

[Stanka Kordic]

I am so happy to trade in my headaches charging by the inch (when I did landscapes) to the painless, and non-negotiable charging by the body parts.

I also talk them out of teeth, and tactfully remove my Sargent examples of beautifully executed smiles from their view.

[Tom Martinez]

That is my thinking also. Determine the size that you are willing to do for a particular pose. Then, price it in accordance with so much per square inch. Then, as you gain in experience and precision raise your pricing as you dare. We do have to guard against being too low as well as too high. We owe it to our peers to keep our pricing within the range of all others. I'm not advocating price fixing. But, we do need to keep things uniform and reasonable. Someone recently suggested pricing in accordance with "how much would you accept to let your work go to a buyer?"
Regards.

[Lon Haverly]

How about multiplication factors of p.p.s.i. as follows:

background x 1.7
Landscape background x 3.2
hair x 2.8
patterned cloth x 3.9
flesh tones x 4.4
hands x 5.3
Torso x 1
teeth x 10
wrinkles x 6
whiskers x 3.2
Furniture x 3

etc

Open for any other suggestions

[Chris Saper]

How about a vanity premium? $50 a pound, $50 a year? How many carats you want that diamond to be?

CS

[Lon Haverly]

Yes, that is a definite factor.

Flattery should be calculated by the square inch of area that the flattery effects -
by a factor of 9.2, except where jewelry is involved. That would be the flat rate as above.

[Chris Saper]

Ok. So if a ring goes from .5 ct to 3.0 ct, and assuming it reduces the visible hand to be painted by 12% (depending on the angle of course) therefore would you reduce the overall hand premium to 4.134?

Just wondering.

Chris

[Lon Haverly]

I should think not, since you would have to visualize the hand beneath anyway in order to know what is going on under the ring, and in all probability, paint it to a large degree.

[Rochelle Brown]

Oh, you kids!