Pet Portraits - how much would you pay?

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6103claire

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I have recently started doing pet portraits as well as my usual job. i did art a level and have always enjoyed srawing horses. here is an example of a portrait i did for someone before christmas. it is done on A3 paper in graphite pencil and they are mounted when i finish them. i charged £60 for this which i think is quite cheap for this type of thing but would rather be a bit cheaper to start with to build up a bit of a reputation.

just wondered what you thought and how much you would pay for one like this? (sorry dont have the photo to compare it too)

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Hi Claire, you're pics are certainly very good, but at the risk of causing offence maybe a tad amateur. I'd be delighted to have a picture done by you - but not for £60 I'm afraid.
 
It depends on how many hours you have taken to complete the work, the materials you use and if you are including a framing service.

As you mentioned you are trying to establish a reputation and of course this is word of mouth and exhibits. I would approach your local library because it would be free/or very cheap to put your pictures up and get the word out to the local community. Another very cheap local way is to put up posters in local shops, post office, newsagent.

Your picture is very good and I am sure you will have success. However any picture is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay and if you intend on this being your sole earnings you will have to figure out what you need to earn to survive in your early months of work.

I think a fair price is £90.00 to start with, then you can hope to get repeat business and establish yourself. Once you are well on the way, then of course the fee you charge can increase. If you overprice yourself at the start business will be harder to obtain and it will take longer to gain that establishement.
 
I charge £35 black and white pencil drawing on A3 including packaging and recorded delivery. Coloured pencil is £50. Paintings (as in signature) start at £150. I would post some pics, but their new owners might not appreciate it
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They take rather alot longer than 3 hours. Fact is, there are lots and lots and lots of artists offering pet portraits. If you have a look on ebay you'll find hundreds at very low prices. I honestly don't mean to rain on your parade, but competition is very fierce and you'll probably have to start lower. I wish you lots of luck though
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Thanks, i wouldnt do it as the main income - not for a long time anyway - as you do have to be really established to do this! i think i'll stick at £60 for the moment, when i was looking around, there were people charging loads more than that and some of them weren't that good.

I have some posters up in shop[s but i hadnt thought of the library, will do that, thanks.
 
for claire, my website is www.equineartwork.co.uk - please excuse the lack of pictures - i've been revamping it and !dropped! my digi camera so now cannot take photo's of my work :-(

I draw alongside working full time, having to commute into London (1hr and 1/2 each way) and looking after the two horses, so i charge less to make it more accessible for people and plus its not really for income as that comes from elsewhere!
 
They are really good! Thats what i would do, do it for extra income really plus i enjoy it! i would prefer to charge a bit less so it is more appealing to a wider range of people, plus i would hate to charge alot and then them not think it was good enough to charge that price!
 
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