Skip to main content

I Hate Math

This is what is brewing in my studio right now...

I'm in the midst of a new piece and I'm working with some very time consuming techniques and effects on this one. Each painting has to challenge me more than the last. I hate just cranking things out at the same level as the last one. What's the point? That's not climbing up the mountain that's playing around on the elliptical machine.
(each section is painted and then "feathered out" with a dry brush technique to make it soft)

So today I was thinking about how time consuming these were, how many new paintings I need to make for some upcoming opportunities, how many I will need to make to turn around now to make rent and bills and how much I charge for my work. I hate math. I really do. 
Let's say I have been charging $400 for a piece that is 24" x 24". And Paypal will immediately take out about $15 of that. $385 and let's deduct the price of canvas and paint which if it was on sale might be about $40. $345 is what we're looking at and I haven't been charging sales tax on my Texas sales which is... I don't wanna know how much this is going to bite me in the arse. So it's time to get straight and proper with the IRS in the mix and I'm going to have to start adding my sales tax into the price like a good self employed artist. And buffering that Paypal fee. So if you see a small hike in price it's not me trying to be Miss Snooty Patootie, it's me trying to not screw myself and get into trouble I can't afford. I wish I could just paint and let someone else handle the numbers, really!
It is my goal this year to get all my pricing down straight finally and not sell myself short yet still be affordable to my friends and collectors. Ah the art market, so strange and foreign to me still!
This new piece is in the works and I will reveal a little more when it's farther along. So much work to do, so many opportunities to try to grab!
Have a great Saturday everyone! Condolences to everyone messing around with their taxes right now! :P


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 29, 2014 at 1:34 PM

    Rent, bills and taxes – those are why we should learn to appreciate Math, no matter how unlikely it is. Grown up stuff are most about calculations, measurements and dealing with digits that has significant impact in our lives, so might as well learn to embrace it while you were young. Sarah @
    GradePower Learning

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's the little things...

I will eventually get back to posting about art 😂 but I lost my first pound with just 3 days of dedicating myself to Metabolic Renewal...and this is me playing fast and loose because A. I did not buy their shakes I'm doing my own. So I don't really know their caloric/nutrition value vs mine. B. Getting 10,000 steps a day on my pedometer.... doesn't happen. That's almost two hours of walking a day. I get 8,000 or 9,000 before the Texas heat or work calls it off. C. Haven't followed any of the meal recipes. I've been winging it with good sense. I will get closer to their instructions in time ( like maybe next week) since I paid for it. My body is SORE AF. It's totally getting put through the paces and I'm lucky there are modifications for pudgy newbies like me. But 1st lb down is a good feeling because seeing the scale move down is what I'm after. I'm pretty proud of myself for yesterday in general..did my workout, a walking session THEN WENT ...
2 comments
Read more

The New Way

Had a wonderful time at the Artists Showcase and Home Tour on Thursday. It was a great reminder of the new "Im worth it" path I've taken. I really feel like the artists were well taken care of and promoted and enjoyed the event very much. Here was my little curated space: All the artists got their own little spaces to create and show in this AMAZING house. I had lots of great windows and light in my space. Even though my endometriosis pains were popping in intermittently- I stood and smiled and chatted with visitors and fellow artists. These three were my largest pieces there and looked great on the spacious walls.   These look great together- I hope whoever eventually buys them is able to get both of them. Its a fun horizontal/vertical juxtaposition. The food was IMPECCABLE...the cake makers made these elegant cakeballs in various flavors and used each of the artists works to decorate the tops. I have arrived! My art is edible! Ther...
Post a Comment
Read more

One thing leads to another

Sometimes it just takes one little action to get things rolling in the right direction. For me the action was ordering a giant roll of bubble wrap I didn't even have space for and when it arrived I had to figure out where it would live because my cats were already trying to hug it with their teeth and sharp little claws.  Also, why bubble wrap? What for?  I'm a big believer in taking some sort of action, big or small to make yourself move in a certain direction. I also believe in productive manifesting and the bubble wrap symbolized shipping. Shipping art out. Shipping lots of art out. Shipping out so much art I was justified in living with a big roll of bubble wrap for awhile!  So step one: order the bubble wrap and step two was the fun task of... Making a place for it to live. So manifesting was already happening and I decided I needed a designated area for shipping supplies and hell.. My printer needed a proper home too. I had a very messy shelf with an old printer on ...
2 comments
Read more