Art and money

I received a message from someone about a friend of theirs who was interested in the drawing above. Please remember, I am not picking on this person or making fun of them. This is a general comment I come across when selling artwork.

"For $155? Nah, I can't spend that money on it. Not that its not worth it, looks beautiful just alot of money."

This could be a quote from a great number of people who showed interest in my work . I, myself, am not in any position to pay that kind of money for artwork, but that price is a very low price for what I think it's worth. The reason I put that price for that piece is because I thought I was underpricing the drawing. When I'm selling original artwork on Ebay, I point out that the work is ORIGINAL. There will be no other like it. Reproductions are lesser versions of the original. So when I'm trying to sell an original piece, and it is a quality piece, I hope that people realize that it's something I spent time on and worked at. I didn't buy it and reselling it. I created it. It's frustrating when people expect artists to sell their work for very little. I sold a drawing, a decent drawing for $30 on Ebay. I had one bidder and the minimum bid was $30. I know, I should have placed a higher starting bid, but when people see a starting bid of $60 or more, they pass on it. But it's ORIGINAL ARTWORK! I gave a bidder who didn't get their bid in on time a chance to buy an original drawing and asked for $75. They wanted me to honor the Buy It Now price of $65. They couldn't even give up the $10. I accepted it, however, because I have to take it sometimes these days because people are not buying and I needed the money.

I don't know if this makes sense to anyone. I'm flustered. If you're buying original artwork, remember that you're not just buying a drawing on paper from the artist but the reputation of the artist. That artist might make a name for themselves or already have. Artwork can be an investment. Don't try to short change the artist, because it chips away at their integrity when you don't want to pay over $100 for something that obviously is worth more.

Nuff said