How to Price Your Art: A Simple Formula That Works for Emerging Artists

Pricing is the question every artist dreads and almost nobody teaches. Price too high and nothing sells. Price too low and you undervalue the work, and collectors notice. Here is a simple, defensible way to do it.

Start with a formula, not a feeling

The most reliable method for emerging artists is size-based pricing. Choose a rate per square inch or square centimetre, multiply by the dimensions, then add the cost of materials. A common starting point for an emerging artist is £1 to £3 per square inch. A 20 by 24 inch canvas at £2 per square inch is £960, plus materials. That gives you a number you can explain, and consistency across your whole body of work, which is what collectors trust.

Consistency matters more than the number

Collectors compare. If two similar pieces are priced wildly differently, it signals you do not know your own value. Pick a system, apply it to everything, and raise it gradually as demand grows. Never lower prices publicly, it damages the value of work already sold.

What to include in the price

Materials, framing, and your time. If you are selling through a platform that takes commission, you must build that in too, which is why so many emerging artists end up pricing themselves out of sales just to cover a 40% to 50% cut. On Mostra, artists keep 100% of every sale with zero commission, so the price you set is the price you keep, and you can price fairly without inflating.

Exhibiting changes your pricing power

A line on your CV that says London, New York, Tokyo or Paris does something real: it gives collectors a reason to trust your number. Each exhibition is evidence. The Holy Art has exhibited 25,000+ artists across 400+ shows in 20+ cities, and exhibited artists consistently find it easier to hold their prices.

Three pricing mistakes to avoid

Pricing by emotion, so your favourite piece costs three times the rest. Rounding down to seem approachable, which reads as uncertainty. And pricing differently in different places, which collectors will find.

Where to start today

Set your rate, apply it to five works, write the prices down, and put them somewhere buyable. Open a studio on Mostra at getmostra.com and your work is live with prices in minutes. Then get exhibited, because every show makes your next price easier to justify. Open calls are live at theholyart.com.

Where art meets the world.