“And how much is art really worth?” A lyric from Florence + The Machine that of course caught my attention, and an age old question I don’t know if anyone really knows how to answer, except with the line that “it’s worth whatever someone’s willing to pay for it.”

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒐𝒏 was a pivotal painting for me. For the first time I felt like… ok, maybe I can do this. She was entered and accepted into my first ArtPrize, she became my “logo,” my identity for a while, when I was still going by Jennifer Anne, she traveled with me to live painting events, and I vowed to never sell her, joking that I’d only take one million dollars;)

She came to be because of a dream (nightmare, I suppose), a dark children’s story, the inspiration of Kees van Dongen, and finally, a challenge.

She’s a self-portrait. She represents a lot to me.

And so, back to the “what is art worth” question.

In the not-so-distant past, I let fairly large and complex paintings go for about $100-150. Paintings that now I’d price at 10-20X as much.

I decided one day that I needed to raise my prices. It didn’t really feel like a decision, though. I felt I could not continue if I let them go for a hundred bucks. So I raised them, with the understanding that they may not sell at all, ever.

And then someone decided they were worth it.

There was no guarantee of that, they could change their mind at any time, and no one else may ever think so.

But I carry on.

And I was reminded today of the value I placed on 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍, all those months ago, and I decided, that even though it looks absolutely INSANE, I will finally list her on my site… at a 50% discount for a limited time;)

She will sit for eternity, but that’s ok. I’m going to continue to decide what my art is worth, even if no one agrees.

Acrylic on wood, July 2022