The Cost of Art Materials. ~. by Kathy McNenly

Something most people do not think about when they buy a painting is the cost of materials that go into making a picture. I have always been keen on producing work that is archival and will last a long time. To do so, however, is dependant on the price of materials and then consequently this affects the price point of the picture.

I use oil primed portrait linen, which is insanely expensive. For a roll of this type of linen, 3yds by 54 inches, it would cost about $500 - $700. Fortunately, I do not work very large, so I can get quite a few pieces out of it. I usually mount the linen on an aluminum panel, so there is no give to the linen. Over time this prevents cracking of the paint film. Aluminum panels can run about $10-$70, depending on size. I then use an archival glue to attach the linen to the board, which is also getting quite expensive. So, for each smaller piece I do it would cost about $30-100 for just the panels.

Then comes the paint. Artist quality oil paint can also be very expensive. It seems that since covid started, the price of paint has doubled in some cases. The cadmiums for instance like red, yellow, orange can run $40 to $75 for a small tube. The earth colours like ochre, black, sienna generally run around $18 to $25. Depending on the colours used in a painting and the size of the picture one can run through tubes of paint quickly.

Brushes also are expensive but can be used over and over if you take care of them. There are also mediums like linseed oil, mineral spirits and varnish that will be used. These have all gone up in price over the last few years. There are also miscellaneous things like paper towels, palette paper, brush cleaner, etc.… that add on to the price.

If the artist is framing their paintings, then they must add on anywhere from $30 to $300 to the final price. I find that picture frames have risen dramatically over the last few years.

It is not the most glamorous thing to think of when looking at a painting. And we are sometimes shocked by the price. But a lot of work and materials go into the making of art and while artists must keep their price points in mind when selling. Their profit usually ends up going down because of material costs constantly rising.

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