I often make small sketches while out at lunch (tbc, I am not advertising my art here or soliciting purchases). Just kind of throwaway art with some blemishes.
Someone offered to buy one of mine; and old workmate. I said $5 and they upped it to $15. I told my gf that I made a small sale. I was hoping for her to be happy but she was upset that I didn’t ask for more money. The response that I fucked up was immediate and has made me feel bad all day.
To give context on her behalf, she mentioned that I coach younger artists to sell their paintings for more but this was just a sketch.
Edit:
I am an established artist. I have been in a lot of shows and curated one myself. I am fine with putting high prices on my art and they sell. My decision for pricing this was 1) and old work friend 2) its a sketch, not a whole piece. Just sitting in my sketchbook otherwise.
Elsewise, it made me feel bad right away instead of being given an "atta boy." I am unemployed right now but have an MBA and a good work history. I’ve been grinding hard otherwise but this just took my morale down and made me doubt myself.
NTA
You as the artist should decide what you feel happy selling your art for so NTA for selling your art for a price you were happy to sell it for.
NTA, you’re the artist and you (and the buyer) determine the selling price. The GF is allowed to express an opinion on this, like, “hey, you’re underrating yourself, you should have sold it for more.” But what right, or reason, does she have to get *angry* \[EDIT: angry at OP\] about it?
this! I would probably agree with the gf that he’s undervaluing his work ($15 is really not much), but her response was to make him feel bad about something he was happy about. Like, if OP has a problem with confidence in himself, berating him is the worst thing she could have done.
NTA your art, your choice what to charge, but as a fellow artist, $5 is way too cheap.
It’s definitely hard to know to price your stuff, I’m still fine tuning after selling my work for many years now, but don’t devalue your time and your talent.
You would never be TA in this situation. $15 is dope as hell. The fact alone that someone paid 3x the amount you offered for a throwaway sketch of yours is fantastic on its own. I used to knowingly undersell my work to people I knew appreciated art but didn’t have money for it. I wanted people who loved my work to be able to afford it, keep it, hang it up, and appreciate it more than I would if it just sat in my notebook. Keep it up. You’re winning
Someone keeping and hanging it up to appreciate it is way better than it sitting in my notebook. I cannot agree more!
NTA. It’s your art, you get to determine it’s value. She’s the AH for having an expectation of value for your art when she had zero participation in the creation or transaction of said art. You keep sketching!
Nta. Price your art as you choose.
Advice from my teacher in college: you can always go higher, you can never go back lower if you’ve sold your work at a high price. That’s showing a lack of integrity.
If you want to keep selling, find out what you feel is a good price, factor in the time it took, and have a basis for pricing so you’re consistent.
Ps this is from someone who makes and sells ceramics. There will always be people who want it for less or some who want you to sell it for more, but it’s up to you and what you’re willing to part with it for or put effort into making a commission or something for.
As long as you are making money, all is good.
Your gf can price the art pieces very high, but it doesn’t mean people want to pay that kind of price.
You can give her a few pieces to sell.
Give her a small commission for every piece she sells.
NTA. Your girlfriend is. You were gonna sell for $5; they added $10 more dollars.
Be proud!
It’s hard to know from your description whether your girlfriend is TA or NTA. Was she being well-meaning but a little aggressively over-supportive and defensive of your talent that you are undervaluing or if she was being hyper-critical and negative over a small win you hoped to celebrate with her. Maybe both?
For you- need more context- Are you a perfectionist? Do you struggle to value your work appropriately? Do you often feel like you “fucked up” or are in trouble with her or other people? How is your gf doing? Do you have shared finances with her, and is she worried about bills? Do you worry about your ability to make money? If these don’t really apply, you are NTA for pricing your work low and you should just talk to her and let her know how you feel about her reaction.
You may not be effectively communicating your emotional state and desire for support from your girlfriend. Communicating in a direct way that people can hear without defensiveness is an invaluable relationship and life skill.
NTA – if you were pricing things low at a show and undercutting other artists it’d be one thing but selling a quick sketch to someone you know is so different