28.05.02 Talking about prices

When it comes to pricing artwork a lot of factors come into play. There are no fixed guidelines that apply in every case. Some artists/galleries actually charge by the square inch, a method that always seemed to me to skew intrinsic artistic value to the level of floor carpet. Of course size is a factor in every gay buyers mind, but surely quality accounts for something:-) But in my case it was irrelevant, as every painting I have done to date is 11x14, and even the most size-oriented customer will have to make his decision on other preferences. So, in the end, it comes down to a rating of my personal favorites. This in no way should imply to you that if you like a painting on the lower end of the scale, that it is inherently inferior to one at the high end. Ten years of illustrating for the magazines proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that my preferences have nothing to do with the reactions of the viewers.
I remember one painting that I was particularly enthralled with having done, lots of things about it delighted me, particularly the beautiful treatment of the cock and balls. My best friend's comment on seeing it for the first time was "his hand looks funny". His eyes picked up on some-thing that was totally inconsequential to my enjoyment. Of course thereafter I had to rework the funny looking hand, managing all the while my indignation about the rude treatment I seemed fated to endure, thinking who the fuck cares if the fingers are perfectly delineated. (It's still my Achilles heel, as I paint fast and detailing knuckles slows my tempo down.:-) But, thanks to experience and criticisms like that, over time the "funny-looking stuff gets harder to find. It's usually there, like Waldo, it just takes longer to find:-)

So back to prices. I've been on ebay long enough now to have a feeling for what things bring on auction there. Then I see what online galleries and other artists are asking for their work and mentally compare my prices with theirs. If you like my art, and I don't think you'd have read this far if you didn't, I think you'll find my prices extremely com-petitive with other artists you might like too. In the auctions on Ebay I've let some really nice stuff go for a lot less than had you asked me before the auction.That's also a reason i started the email list, so that potential buyers would be notified when something was up for auction. For now I've adopted a 1 through 10 scale, and rated every-thing subjectively. It's a continuation of the marketing I began last April, as now I'm starting with some new stuff that I wont show for awhile. But on ebay I'll do some "spring cleaning" of paintings not in this group. Perhaps you'll find some to your liking there and get a great deal at auction.