Artists restructure pricing of their works

Art, it seems, is tricky business.

The value is often viewed as subjective, leaving an artist guessing at pricing structures.

“I find it personally difficult to price my work, so in the past I let the gallery define the market value,” said self-described nomad artist Brad Noble. “Once there is an established precedent, I try to honor those collectors as well as I can.”

The pricing of art is all over the map and generally depends on the artists’ investment: size, time, education, materials and scarcity. Some artists price by the square-inch.

Walk into a downtown Springfield gallery today and prices range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

“A lot of artwork is priced too high,” said local photographer Weber Warren. “An artist can price their stuff at whatever they want.”

Warren bucked the norm with his latest project, dubbed “Free the Manikins.” He pictured either nude or scantily clad mannequins he’d seen and photographed in flea markets because each of the inanimate objects seemed to have a personality.

His price was $100 for every 20-by-24-inch print, framed and matted.

“I went with the guerilla artwork approach,” Warren says. “It wasn’t about the money. It was about saying something.”

After being turned down by Springfield Brewing Co. because the pictures were deemed too racy, Warren’s gallery was accepted by Gailey’s Breakfast Cafe, 220 E. Walnut St. He said 18 of 24 pieces were sold last month.

Warren thought his work would be finding its way into lofts rented by college kids downtown. But he discovered some pieces headed to Bentonville, Arkansas, San Francisco and Dallas, as well as Marshfield. The others, he believes, stayed in town.

Karla Breeding Trammell, an artist at art cooperative Fresh Gallery, recently shifted her approach to selling artwork.

Trammell lost her side job when her employer shut down a few months ago, and she raised her prices slightly until she finds another part-time gig.

“I would love for art to be my only livelihood. There are some artists who don’t have to do anything else,” she said.

In pricing, Trammell said artists’ degrees, awards and notoriety can up the ante.

“Each artist prices their own work by how they want to,” she said. “Since your work can be very personal, you find that some pieces you get very attached to because they are your creations.”

That doesn’t mean all artists price sentimentally.

Josh Mitchell, owner of the Josh Mitchell Art Gallery in the Rountree Neighborhood, said most artists approach their work as a business.

“The entire stance that I’m observing is that art helps businesses prosper,” he said. “I see this all the time, it’s a little bit of lack of respect or a little bit of taking it for granted – that artists are not business oriented.”

Mitchell hones in on three things to determine value: size, scarcity and the name of the artist.

“I put all three of those together and then generally reduce a little bit for the Springfield market,” he said.

The price points are tough to set, but Trammell said collectors in the Springfield area will pay.

“They regularly buy art,” she said. “If they see a piece they like, they’re going to buy it, regardless of the price.”

Trammell had that experience from her piece in Watercolor USA 2012, a juried, national art show started by the Springfield Art Museum. Her watercolor piece received some publicity, and it sold.

“I doubled my price the next year in 2013 and it sold at the patron preview,” Trammell said. “If you are pricing something as less than what it’s worth, then you’re selling yourself short.”

Mitchell was in the business of advertising art for over 25 years. But his artwork has been the sole form of income the past 15 years.

“I had the experience of working for many, many businesses and saw how they operate,” he said. “Business is business; we are out to make money and provide a great service.”

Mitchell said the sale of artwork is an excellent indicator of the health of an economy. When housing is up, art is up, he said. He’s seen activity increase this year.

“The economy is good. People are buying art and jewelry and forming long lines at Starbucks,” he said.

Noble, who bounces between Springfield, London and Barcelona, said the highest prices for his works generally come from negotiations he’s not directly involved with.

“My personal sweet spot is always a negotiation. (It’s) unnerving for me because I just love to create,” he said. “How do you put a value on that?”

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