Every so often people ask me how to start getting portrait commissions. And also someone asks for tips on pricing. Do not expect me to give you a presentation on business plans. I am not an expert, not in the least. I believe that it just comes down to using your common sense.
What do you want?
1. portrait painting as a hobby?
2. portrait painting as a full time professional artist?
It comes down to quality.
If it is just your hobby, mainly family and friends will be your clientele and prices will be relatively low in the beginning. If making a living from painting is your goal, then the question is: is your quality good enough? Is your artwork spiritual and essential? These are questions you need to answer yourself. Because in your immediate environment people always think you are fantastic (the so called applause of uncles and aunts; that fame is worthless). Self-criticism is important. You’ll have to decide where your level is compared with colleagues. The internet is a very useful tool. Look for good painters who do commissioned portraits. Relate their work to yours. Once again be very critical and honest with yourself, I can not emphasise this enough.
Well, assuming you think the quality is high enough to announce yourself in the market, then the next question is about the revenues.
What are my prices?
Try to find out what colleagues charge and adjust your price accordingly. You have to remember here that your geographical location plays a role. Do you live in a big city, in the US for example, or in a remote village in the interior of let´s say India. That makes a huge difference. Some more advice: try to find a good gallery that wants to represent you. Setting your prices that way you can still decide to increase them in the future. It is impossible to lower prices overtime. Clients from the past will feel cheated. If there is a lot of demand you may consider to raise the rates. If you hardly ever get assignments it means that you are too expensive or that your quality is not appreciated.