I charged $200 for a 24x30 and I'm still mad about it three years later
I still think about a piece I sold in 2022. 24x30, mixed media on panel, took me about 40 hours across three weeks. I charged $200 because I was terrified of asking for more and the person seemed nice and I wanted them to have it.
$5 an hour. Before materials.
I saw a photo of it in their living room recently (they tagged me) and I couldn't even be happy it was up somewhere. Just sat there doing the math in my head again like a weirdo. Three years later and I'm still mad at myself.
I've raised my prices since then but not enough. I think there's a version of me that will always underprice because the part of me that grew up thinking making things isn't real work never fully went away.
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I charged $400 for a life-size welded piece early on. Took me six weeks. I still know exactly what that number was and I could tell you the buyer's name.
The math sticks because it's not really about the math. It's about not trusting your own work yet. That part fades but it takes longer than you'd think.
40 hours is real labor. You earned the right to be sore about it. Next time you're pricing something and that old voice shows up, just add a zero and see how it feels. You can always come down.
"add a zero and see how it feels", that's genuinely good advice and also sounds like something that would give me heart palpitations lol
but yeah you're right. it's the trust thing. or the fear that if i name a real number someone will look at me and go "who do you think you are" and i'll have to admit i don't know.
six weeks for $400 though. jesus. we really do this to ourselves.