Most artists charge a fixed price per square inch on the canvas and multiply that dollar amount by the size of the canvas. For example, an average price point is $1 per square inch. If you request a 16" x 20" art piece, that is an area of 320 inches. 320 x $1 per square inch is $320.

Knowing that many artists are arithmetic impaired, I'm going to spell this out for you. Square inches=height times width, so your 8X10 painting is 80 square inches. Dividing the $100 selling price by 80 gives you a value of $1.25/square inch.

As a general rule of thumb, you should expect to spend at least $100 on a small, simple painting by an unknown artist. If you're looking for a larger or more complex painting or one by a well-known artist, you should budget at least $1,000.