10 Things Artists Want You to Know

Ever wonder how artists decide on a price for their creative work? Why it usually costs more to buy from an art gallery than from an artist's studio? Just curious about what professional artists do all day? Here are 10 insights from five artists working in a variety of mediums; included are photographers, painters and a ceramicist.

1. Inspiration comes from observing the world around us. "My work is heavily influenced by my background in environmental science," says Rhode Island fine art photographer Diana Brennan. "My education and experience interpreting the natural world scientifically has informed the way I see natural subjects through the camera lens. I want to share this perspective with my viewers and help them to see the natural world in a new way, to notice details they had previously overlooked, and to be reminded that nature is both powerful and fragile."

Brattleboro, Vermont, ceramic artist Natalie Blake says, "Inspiration from the outside comes from nature, history, science, biology ... in general, I would call it the hum of life."

Cynthia White Anderson, a fine art pet portrait painter in California, adds, "I find inspiration through daily observation of nature, playing with my two dogs and through my students. I am both a studio artist as well as an art teacher to some amazing elementary-school-aged artists. My students challenge me daily, so I am constantly experimenting. One of my latest inspirations is the way that sunlight filters through an animal's ears and fur — I just love trying to capture the right color of warmth in any color fur."


2. Inspiration also comes from observing the self, dreams and the inner world. "I get my inspiration for my art from dream imagery and intuitive inspiration that comes through me onto the sketch paper or clay canvas," Blake says. "I am searching the inner spiral of what we call gut — intuition, faith, patience and trust in the creative process."

Brennan adds, "It's true that it's really yourself you put into artwork. I am a quiet, observant introvert, and my work tends to be calm and introspective. My still-life subjects are typically isolated on a simple background, with emphasis on the details and textures. My landscapes and seascapes tend to be uninhabited, almost verging on desolate, and incorporate soothing natural blues, greens and neutrals. In general my style tends to to be both quiet and strong, mirroring the powerful fragility of nature."


3. Inspiration, in fact, can come from anywhere. Fine art painter Carole Meyer, who splits her time between Portland, Oregon, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, says, "Inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere. I find I am very inspired by my own home. I love interior decor, and my art is an extension of that art form."

And from Blake: "My inspiration to run a small business comes from working with my friends and colleagues to put beautiful things out in the world that people can touch and live with for centuries, hopefully. I love cocreating with a talented team in order to support each other and the community."


4. Communication is key — especially in commissioned work. "Matching a client's vision to my ability sometimes proves challenging," Anderson says. "I have found that taking time through the initial stages of planning the portrait makes a huge difference. It is important for the client to know that initial communication is key to ensure that the final painting meets their desires with as few revisions during the painting stage as possible. I enjoy updating the client along the way through the entire process. I can never get enough of the enthusiasm from a client when they share with me that the painting is beyond their expectations!"


5. Artists are entrepreneurs, too. Philadelphia fine art photographer Nancy "Weezy" Forman shares, "Being an artist, designer and business professional, my day consists of wearing many hats. Putting myself out there in social media, Houzz, Facebook and Pinterest takes time, as well as marketing my artwork to magazines and local meet-the-artist events in galleries and restaurants where I show my work."

Blake adds, "My least favorite part of running the business is the juggling act I need to do. I feel like I am juggling eight balls in the air in order to hold the ball of true creativity one out of eight times. Until the day when my business creates its own momentum, I will have to keep my hands and eyes on most aspects of the business, switching from task to task, decision to decision, as needed. This simply distracts me from the focused time for playing and dabbling needed to find that inner voice."


6. Art is meaningful to the artist and patron. "One of my absolute favorite things about my work is painting a portrait of a beloved pet that has passed," Anderson says. "I'd like to believe that through communication with the client, I can capture the heart and soul of the animal that they loved so much."


Specimen 652 - $35 » There are two best things about being an art photographer, Brennan says. "The first is seeing an image on the computer monitor for the first time and realizing it came out just as I wanted it to. There's something so exciting about that moment of creative fulfillment," she describes. "The second is the pure delight I feel when I see that my work resonates with someone. That connection is what it's all about."


7. Artwork prices include many things. "Pricing is based on a combination of time spent, materials and other costs, and the markup/percentage that a gallery or store will take," Brennan says. "I typically spend two hours processing images for every one hour spent shooting. I must also cover time for bookkeeping, marketing, sales, order fulfillment etc."


Even without a gallery markup and marketing, artwork can cost more to produce than you might think. "Material costs include the actual prints, mounting or framing, and any packaging needed for display or shipping," Brennan says. "Other costs include things like the fee to shoot behind the scenes at a natural history museum. Overhead expenses must be covered as well, whether that be a one-time equipment upgrade, the recurring purchase of printer ink or the booth fee for an art festival."


"I look at what others are selling their work for, visualize a price that feels right and go with it," Blake says. "Then I adjust pricing for the logical sequence of size, labor and creative time. My materials are relatively cheap. It is the labor, including preparation of materials — clay processing and readying, glaze mixing and testing, fixing equipment, ordering supplies etc. — marketing and promotion, application and proposal preparation, customer relations, travel expenses, studio supplies, equipment purchase and upkeep, that costs the studio so much."


8. Galleries are a whole different ballgame from retail stores. "Pricing is difficult," says Meyer. "If you are represented by a gallery, as I am — Gallery 903 in Portland, Oregon — your gallery will help you set a price. If you are selling from your own studio, which I also do, you need to keep your pricing in the same range as it is in the gallery."

Brennan weighs in: "The final piece of the equation is pricing to sell via galleries or brick and mortar stores. Galleries typically take a 40 to 50 percent cut of the sales price to cover their own expenses. Retail stores, needing to turn a profit themselves, expect to purchase work at 50 percent less than retail price. Pricing is always a challenging balance between covering costs and being competitive in the market."


9. Making art is fun. "For me one of the most exciting aspects of making art is experimenting with different techniques and new materials," Meyer says. "I have no training as an artist, though I was a professional photographer for 35 years; I just love to try new things. I am very messy while working — very messy. A typical day painting for me would be to get up, brush teeth, do not bathe, do not fix hair, put on really messy paint clothes, do not do dishes, go to messy garage and have a blast all day long."


Forman loves photographing old, rusted-out trucks that have been abandoned on dirt roads and in fields. "The fun part is traveling and having the right gear and searching for old pickup trucks to photograph," she says. "We make a lot of U-turns and sometimes have to wait a while for the right light. I do other images as well, so along the way I may stumble on something that needs to be photographed. I also have fun giving the images names, which add to their personality — there is nothing I dislike about what I do."


10. It's meaningful work ... but it's still work. "Making art is hard work," Meyer says. "At least for me, the most difficult part is to get a painting to the point that I love it. And if I don't love it, how can I expect anyone else to love it? I am never done with a painting until I love it. Despite what hard work it is, I need to do it and love to do it. Like skiing or mountain climbing or running a marathon, it is all hard work, and if we were not compelled or if we did not love to do it, it would just be work."

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More: 10 Design Strategies for Art Lovers

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