Coloursoup

It can be difficult to judge whether the price for a painting or drawing is fair. Here are a couple of insider tips to help you decide.

• It's important to distinguish between a one-off original painting or drawing vs an original print (with a run of say 50 signed copies) vs an “open edition” print (where the artist or gallery is free to print unlimited copies). One-off pieces command a higher price than limited edition work, which in turn are more valuable than open edition prints. (At Coloursoup we only exhibit one-off or limited edition artworks)
• Typically oil paintings are more expensive than similar sized drawings – with watercolours somewhere in between. This is due to the cost of the materials and the extra time required to work with the medium
• Artists who are new to the profession are often advised to charge based on a mark-up of the time and materials used to create the work – e.g. if a new artist prices their time at £15 per hour, and a work takes 20 hours to create and requires £30 of materials, the price (before gallery commission) will be £330
• Typical high street galleries will often charge a markup of over 100% to cover their costs – meaning that the price to the customer of the work above work could be as high as £700 or £800. (Coloursoup charges a much lower commission than the typical gallery – we pass this saving on to you)
• As an artist becomes more established he or she will usually raise their prices. Expect to pay significantly more if the artist has won or been shortlisted for a major prize like the BP Portrait Award, or is a member of a distinguished society like the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Royal Academy or New England Art Club