Ringlestetter has been a professional artist for over 14 years, and throughout that time he’s experienced a lot of different ways to sell and price his work. When he began painting in 2008, his main financial goal was to make back the cost of the materials so that he could continue on with his craft. When art shows became more of a career and less of a hobby he began charging hourly, and he started at a couple dollars more than what his last job was paying him. As he became more well practiced with his craft his pricing increased, but he ran into issues with this hourly method when he started getting more commissions because it was hard to explain the process to his clients. Most consumers in this industry aren’t interested in every detail that goes into a piece and justifies its price, they’re just looking to buy some beautiful art work and are willing to pay its worth.
This took time to learn and it wasn’t until recent years that Ringlestetter changed that approach when some of his artist colleagues introduced him to pricing by the inch. It’s a much easier pricing process to explain to buyers and it gives him a solid system to work with. At this point in his career he is showcasing his work in Florida and he’s found three price points that go over well with that crowd. He has noticed that in recent years that market that once ate up his smaller bodies of work is seemingly non-existent, so at this time his primary focus is on creating big originals as he’s got those down to a four day science and they give him the room to fully express his creative talents.
Darienne Keniece