Since Time Immemorial artists have had to fight for straightforward, fair payment for their time and effort.
What is the origin of this hiccup in basic respectful relationships? I look at present day social habits and notice that many people have difficulty distinguishing the professional from the recreational. And there are so many other contributing factors which I am going to skip whining about.
Fiverr,...A.I....ugh.
Am I any different from a plumber or electrician or the person replacing your windshield on your car, the person styling your hair, landscaping your yard, etc? There are parallels in what we do. We spend time from our day providing a service physically, manually, with our hands and our time.
Gallery owners will want to kibosh the following should I attempt to include it in an artist’s statement but I tend to view myself as a manual laborer.
Consider a barista working at minimum wage which, right now, here in Seattle, is $21.30 an hour.
After taxes, knock that down to $17.00 or so. If this barista is working a forty hour week, they’re taking home approximately $680. This is someone who has undergone training, knows the steps to fulfill a client's request and repeats that task multiple times a day.
I have steps: meeting to discuss the image and what medium it is to be created in, options, colors, size, style, if and how the work will be printed or otherwise finally presented, obtaining materials from the art supply store or online... all before I can get to work.
By that time our barista has made a few hundred short double lattes and completed a day's worth of other coffeehouse tasks.
If an average minimum wage employee is taking home $680 a week, they’re making a little over $130 a day depending on their scheduling. With my expenses and responsibilities, I need to be earning equivalently.
My average time for completing an illustration assignment is between a week to two weeks. Does that mean you cannot hire me for less than $1300.00? Well, maybe if you're asking for a wall mural or oil painting or something else more expensive and time consuming...yes, that would take the price considerably upward, naturally.
Meanwhile, I am unlikely to agree to an illustration job, black and white or color, unless it puts 600$ or so in my wallet. Seems reasonable.
What is the origin of this hiccup in basic respectful relationships? I look at present day social habits and notice that many people have difficulty distinguishing the professional from the recreational. And there are so many other contributing factors which I am going to skip whining about.
Fiverr,...A.I....ugh.
Am I any different from a plumber or electrician or the person replacing your windshield on your car, the person styling your hair, landscaping your yard, etc? There are parallels in what we do. We spend time from our day providing a service physically, manually, with our hands and our time.
Gallery owners will want to kibosh the following should I attempt to include it in an artist’s statement but I tend to view myself as a manual laborer.
Consider a barista working at minimum wage which, right now, here in Seattle, is $21.30 an hour.
After taxes, knock that down to $17.00 or so. If this barista is working a forty hour week, they’re taking home approximately $680. This is someone who has undergone training, knows the steps to fulfill a client's request and repeats that task multiple times a day.
I have steps: meeting to discuss the image and what medium it is to be created in, options, colors, size, style, if and how the work will be printed or otherwise finally presented, obtaining materials from the art supply store or online... all before I can get to work.
By that time our barista has made a few hundred short double lattes and completed a day's worth of other coffeehouse tasks.
If an average minimum wage employee is taking home $680 a week, they’re making a little over $130 a day depending on their scheduling. With my expenses and responsibilities, I need to be earning equivalently.
My average time for completing an illustration assignment is between a week to two weeks. Does that mean you cannot hire me for less than $1300.00? Well, maybe if you're asking for a wall mural or oil painting or something else more expensive and time consuming...yes, that would take the price considerably upward, naturally.
Meanwhile, I am unlikely to agree to an illustration job, black and white or color, unless it puts 600$ or so in my wallet. Seems reasonable.
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