Ann Arbor Art Fair

We went out to the Ann Arbor Art Fair today. Just like every year since we have been back, we go, walk around for four hours and don't buy a thing.

Part of the issue is that at the Ann Arbor fair, the typical painting (the only art I'm usually looking for) starts in the $800-$1200+ range. That's just tough for me to justify, no matter how much I may like an artist's work. To make up for that, whenever I find something that really speaks to me for some reason, I do try to actually tell the artist. I like to think they find that almost as nice as getting paid for their work.

I'm always curious why paintings are so expensive. I can imagine its something like the market for jewelry: I don't sell very often, so I need to make a fair amount on each sale to justify all of my fixed costs. Combine that with the fact that there is a very limited supply of each artist's work and I guess I can understand it. Still, I always question if asking for half as much would help you sell more than twice as many.