Category: Entertainment

What Should I Charge For My Street Paintings?

5/31/2014

Many artists struggle with this question. Someone wants to hire me? Ack! What should I charge? The biggest mistake is to throw out a quick number, without thinking it through.

First - ask for more details. Try to get them to email the details to you in written format. This gives you time to think and plan. And if they don't give you enough information, ask more questions.

Questions to ask:

How large do you want the art?
What is the surface?
Do you want a reproduction or will I need to design custom art?
How many people will need to approve the art?
What dates do you want the art done?
What is your budget?

Second - Decide on your hourly rate. What is your time worth? Do you have another job? What does it pay? Estimate the number of man hours it will take to complete, including your design time and all the time you use to do the business part (draft a quote, make a template, email a bill, etc.)

Third - Submit a written quote, either in an email format or fax. Spell out as much of the details as you can, so if there is a problem, it will be caught early, before you are committed. If you need to purchase tickets for travel, request at least half up front, so you don't get stuck with the cost.

Fourth - have the client sign and date the quote and return to you, as their approval of the costs. Keep all you emails and faxes until you are paid the full amount.

Fifth - The remaining amount should be paid once the art has been completed (rain or shine). Usually clients will give you a check at the event, or you can have money transferred electronically.

Do not undervalue your art or your time! You need to live and make a living just like everyone else. You may encounter some clients who think you will donate your time for free, but there are plenty of others out there that have a budget and will pay you. Who do you want to work for? If all of the artists charge fair prices for their time and art, we all win in the end.

1 Comment

How to treat a featured artist.

10/20/2013

2 Comments

Many new chalk festivals want to have great street art at their events. So they set out to attract great artists, but go about it the wrong way. Event planners need to think of chalk artists/street painters in the same way that they think about any entertainment that they hire to enhance their event. Most events have a budget set aside for entertainment (bands, kids activities, etc.). Very few events can happen successfully without "entertainment." It's what attracts people to your event.

That's entertainment!
Once you see street painting as entertainment, it then makes sense to treat the chalk artists just like you would a band. Some events want a lot of featured artists, and others only want 2 or 3. It can work either way, just make sure that the artists you bring in are really good at chalk art, and will be good ambassadors of the art form and actually "entertain" while they are on site chalking. They should provide photos to be used for advertising the upcoming event, and be available for interviews with local press. They can also be brought in a day or two early to lead a street painting workshop for local artists.

Artists need to eat, too.
There are a couple of ways you can compensate chalk artists. One is to approach the artists, explain what you want and request a quote for their services. The quote should include travel costs, food and art materials. You also need to remember to include any street cleaning, barricades, security, tents, and other items in your costs when figuring out the total costs. Some events will arrange for lodging, since they get special discounts or donated rooms from local hotels in exchange for sponsorship acknowledgment.

Offer a Stipend.
Another option is to offer a stipend. A set amount would be given to every artist that is invited, and they can use the money for their travel, lodging, materials, food and whatever else is not covered by the event. This seems like the most "fair" way to do it, but it makes it harder to attract artists from father away, since their travel costs might be too high.
The event should include a light breakfast, coffee and juices, cold water, lunches and snacks each day. Most featured artists will bring their own supplies and chalk.

It's also nice when the event has a party or get together on the evening before the event for the artists and sponsors to get together and mingle. When the artists are working during the day, it is tough to have time to talk to everyone, and a pre-party is a great way for everyone to talk in a more relaxed atmosphere.

The event should either arrange the artist's flights or travel and pay for it, or advance money to the artist ahead (half up front is normal), so the artist can purchase their flights. The rest of the amount due should be paid at the end of the event directly to the artist.

What not to do?
Don't charge the artists fees to participate or for anything (t-shirts, programs, etc.). Street painting is a physically demanding art form, and the artists take it very seriously. Many started by donating many weekends to the art form. Asking them to "chip in" is like asking a volunteer at an event to pay for parking and a ticket to the event.

The important thing to remember is to treat your artists well if you want to grow your event into a premier art happening. An event that respects and treats the artists as special and talented guests will become known as a special event, and you will have your pick of great artists.

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Author

Director of the International Street Painting Society, Jennifer is a chalk artist with 9 years of street painting experience, over 25 years of advertising experience and a lifetime of experience as an artist.

What Should I Charge For My Street Paintings?

How to treat a featured artist.

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