A friend wants to buy your art

My late ex husband was a sculptor... His works are installed in different public places here ... He was ok with swaping art pieces with other artists, but never gifting it... never .... He was ok with selling and getting paid in a few instalments if the buyer really liked the work but never ok with selling it for less than what it was worth....

He said that that was his passion but also his job and he would not respect his job if he sold it for less than its real price...

So please go ahead and tell them the same thing without feeling bad about it....

A gift starts from you.
If they are your friends they should lay low on their expectations and see your point of view first.
They aren’t doing you any favors acting like this.

Many useful answer here.
I'd try to use them myself since I have a similar pproblem, I'm a cheap ass and in the past I made many "gifts" basically, at the point I don't like selling my stuff anymore.

You can also set simple "rules" to this, I learned It working in another business.
Since it's a job.
The rules means basically:

- if you sell a piece for a low price, let's say less than 200euros, if they want a discount you should Just not sell the piece. They should go to Ikea and buy some printed shit there.
200 euros Is an affordble price when It comes to everything, some professional ask that amount for a 45 minutes session so...
I Say 200 but It could be even higher, or sometimes even lower depending on the media.

Then, if the amount Is over the "200"
- sell to a stranger, 0 to 10percent less.
- sell to a friend or similar, 15 to 20 percent less.
- sell to best friend, max 25 to 30 percent less.
Never go further, tbh.

Also Idk of you follow official art market rules gicen by your gallerist to sell your work, I don't, I use them Just as hint.

Elafinaaaa Yeeeeeee I love to hear about Art on SW

It's your bread and butter, not just a hobby to please your self and others around. I never eat for free in my friends restaurant, despite all his courtesies. They must have respect for your hard work 🙂

A gentle discount at your end to show respect to your friendship makes perfect sense but half the price is just brutal 😔

Your work IS your work. You wouldn't accept half pay or no pay from an employer.

Suggestion: When you finish a piece, assess its value and place a sticker with the price on the piece. Consider it carved in stone.

It's more simply than you make out i think.

If you do your art as a commercial thing than that's it. Why should you give a 50% discount on your work unless you choose to?

Good friends support you, not rip you off. Paying the right price like everybody else.

Tell them you're a professional. And explain to them the hard work you put (in a guilt tripping kind of way). So the price is set. Maybe hint how the good friends they are, you know they'd understand that it's your business and hard work so you can't lower the standard price.

But don't let them abuse you
Because what you let them get away with will encourage others to do the same. And they'll keep doing that to you and other people too.

I used to struggle with this too. Now I refuse to sell my “art/craft” to my friends or family. If they ask I tell them I don’t sell to friends or family

Sometimes when it’s someone’s birthday or a special event I will make them something as a gift but that’s it. I don’t give out free gifts all the time and I don’t feel bad for it either

Just treat it as your job

I certainly hear what you're saying. That which you yourself put in to a work determines its value to you. Time invested. But a piece of arts value to another remains exactly what they paid for it. A paradox of sorts. 🤔

It’s all well and good to work with friends and do a commission for a set price but try not to undersell your work. You know what kind of time and effort you put into it. Don’t make it Pennie’s on the hour.

They shouldn't pay less simply because they are your friends. You put a lot of effort into your art they should respect that.

People thank you so much for your answers...i found them very helpful. It is indeed a gray zone. This time I avoided it by telling my friend the artwork he was interested in I am not selling it. But I need to have set rules and stick to them. I noticed how my old friends feel kind of entitled to gifts while my new ones show more respect. That's good, I'm in a better place now! After I will upload them to my eshop it would be clearer to everyone that that's my prices so they won't be asking hopefully for great discounts!!!

Tell them you are sorry but you cant give it away, you need the money.

Double the price then you can sell it for half.

My boss says if u want quality u pay for it and that's how his friends pay as well. U need to do the same. Give discounts on two or more sales


It's like if I owned a bar. If I dgave all drinks half price to people I know I'd go out of business