“Achilles”
How much should I spend on a Pet Portrait?
An important, accurate and pleasing to the eye original painting is not cheap, and shouldn’t be. You are buying a one of a kind item, a piece of art. A highly skilled artist, working in any medium does not get paid by the hour, and two similar jobs, seemingly to the untrained eye, can differ greatly in the amount of time it takes to complete them.
You get what you pay for.
As with most things on the consumer market, you pretty much will get what you pay for. You are not just paying for the beauty of the piece but also for its archival qualities and longevity, its perceived importance, the materials used and finally, in some cases you are paying for the artists name and the investment potential of his or her work.
A large oil, acrylic or pastel piece painted by a well known artist will always cost more, and be worth more than a Portrait done say in Pencil or Charcoal, or by a less accomplished artist. This is true even though the art work itself may be flawless and Beautiful, Charcoal by the way, is one of my favorite mediums. This is the nature of art and buying art. The good news is there are a lot of people trying to get your business so a wide price range does exist however you will find again that you need to pay more for the best.
The numbers vary.
Art pricing varies greatly, expect, on the LOW END, to pay between $300 to $600.00 on the average for a 11 x 14 inch painting executed by a fairly competent Painter. And of course as the size of the painting increases, so will the price. Special compositional additions such as a house in the background, a specific landscape, the addition of another animal or person etc… will raise the price. These numbers I am using are averages; you can pay much, much more and in some cases a lot less.
Framing, the added cost.
Now don’t forget depending on what medium you choose you may still need to frame your portrait. A Pastel, Pencil, Charcoal, Ink, photograph or Watercolor piece will absolutely need matting, backing, frame and glass. This will add to the final cost of you Portrait but will also protect it and give it a finished and wonderful look. An Acrylic or Oil can be hung without a frame. The frame is optional and there is no need for matting or glass. I always paint the sides of my paintings (called a Gallery wrap finish) so they can be hung right away and have a finished look as is upon delivery.
Spending less?
If you really need to spend less, and we all can understand this line of thought! Black and White portraits in Pencil and Charcoal usually will cost less. You can also go smaller, my Painting sizes start at 6″ x 8″. Photography is another way to save, although as with any artist a good photographer can demand a high price for his or her work. On the whole though a Photograph usually costs less than a Painting.
Our animals deserve the best in life and I believe that their Portraits are no exception. Choose you Painter well, and you will end up with a piece of art that will be enjoyed for generations.
Have fun everybody!
Cy
