What matters when buying art far more than price is what the artwork is about ​and whether it looks pleasing to the buyer
in the opinion of the people who read Making A Mark.

The top reasons people give for buying a painting
​

The main reason people tend to buy a painting is "because they like it". 

However that needs unpacking as to WHY people like paintings

THE TOP REASONS GIVEN FOR WHY PEOPLE BUY A PAINTING
  • subject matter (62%)
  • colour (41%)
  • design and composition (41%)
  • disposable income of the buyer (25%)
  • selling skills of gallerist (24%)
  • price (24%)
SOURCE: What makes somebody buy a painting? (Poll results)
However PRICE was rated as the 6th most important factor influencing a purchase - and it's even more important than technical skill in painting and mastery of your media!

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
  • Learn more about pricing! 
  • Work on your mastery of pricing methodologies because, when it comes to selling art, pricing is more important than the technical skill used in painting!

POLL: The 10 most important factors when buying a painting
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What you think is really important is NOT what those buying your art think is really important. Many artists invariably think that mastery of technique is what's really important in selling/buying art.

The reality, if you consider what are the important factors in people buying paintings, is that
  • Price is more important than whether you are an expert at what you do
  • AND there are several other factors which are even more important!
These charts are based on one of the monthly polls I conducted on my blog in 2011.  153 people responded.

POLL: What artists thought was important when pricing art
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This is a chart from a previous poll I ran on another site which asked artists to think about what was the most important criterion influencing how art should be priced.

​The bottom line is what artists think is important is NOT what is actually important.