did the math on a commission i finished last month and it came out to like nine dollars an hour. quoted 900 for a 24x30 acrylic, two figures, "simple background." got it. spent a full day just mixing the flesh tones because i kept hating every version. bought $140 of paint mid-job because i ran out of the one red i actually needed. sat on a canvas i'd already underpainted because it wasn't square and i couldn't stop staring at it. so that's what, forty plus hours for nine an hour, before supplies. my old design job paid 34.

the part that gets me isn't even the money, it's that i'd quote 900 again tomorrow. i'd probably quote 800 because i want the wall credit. i keep telling myself next time i'll say 1,400 flat and not itemize, and then someone messages me and i type something smaller than whatever i was going to type. it's like a reflex. anyway the buyer loved it so i guess i loved it too. i don't know what the actual lesson is, i just know if i had a studio assistant i'd have to pay them more than i pay me.