Hello,
I know each artist would put quiet a range to their prices for various works but I was just thinking this morning how awesome it would be to have a mural done on our front fence.
I have no idea what such a thing would cost though, like not even a general ballpark number. $2k?$20k? More?
Just looking to see what sort of number people throw out so I can either pursue it further or just forget about it right off the bat. Also don’t want to insult someone when I approach them and be like “So $50 ya?”
Not sure if there’s a generalized $lsw ft type thing people have but it’s a 8’ tall black corrugated fence, about 120’ long split by a driveway in the middle. I assume prices would vary on the design so let’s say maybe just a forest scene or something,like you would see on electrical boxes in the city to hide them.
I once painted a full mural on a kids room for $200. I only had 3 days. Because the kid was due back from summer camp. So I used up one of my work vacation days to do a 3day weekend. Realized I couldn’t finish in time by end of 1st day. Called a friend to help. Paid her $100. (Cheap and really a favor on her part). I Paid for the paint. Made $0 after transportation , materials, brushes, etc. Worked 10 hrs each day for 3 days straight. My friend worked for 2 of those.
Yeah
Not to mention I made a mock up of the painting a week before to base the mural from. That design and painting probably took 15 hrs.
So that’s 50hrs of mural labor for a fully planned out project. Plus the other 15 hrs for design and mock up. Plus time to go shopping to get supplies.
So 65 hrs ish of labor. For the simple one I did. Rushed.
I don’t make art for money. I have a hard rule. No commissions. It’s never worth it and I learned the hard way a few times.
People were happy with the work. I mean they should be got the price I was paid.
No one wants to pay you for the labor time. So I only rarely sell things I made already or give as gifts for people.
The people who love real art by real local people are not typically rich.
Most artist are not rich.
Art supplies are expensive.
So we have an issue with funds for both parties right off the bat.
The amount of hours it takes to make things far exceeds the monetary payment of said work.
Honestly a 8x8 ft mural that involves hand painting and requires someone to design a scene based on your wants should cost a few thousand dollars (~3,000-6000). For a basic artist. Not anyone well known (like me). Much higher for higher end artist.
Higher cost for outdoors as the wall will need additional surface prep time and higher grade more expensive painting supplies and materials.
I’m not saying this to bum you out but to help you understand why it’s expensive.
I have since done 1 more mural but it was simple and also fully planned. Digital mock-up.
I don’t think I’ll ever do another. They arent very fun.
Still took many hours. 2 days I believe. I was also on a time crunch. The 2nd day I worked on it from noon until like 3 am. I actually have a time lapse video of that one. You can see how even something simple like this minimalistic octopus is very time consuming to paint when it’s big.
https://youtu.be/lByhni3_ijw