How My Work Is Priced and What You're Actually Paying For
People ask about pricing more than almost anything else.
Not always directly but it's the question underneath a lot of others. Why does an original cost that much? Why is a print priced differently to a poster? What am I actually paying for?
These are completely reasonable questions and I'd rather answer them honestly than leave them unanswered.
So here's exactly howI think about pricing my work and what goes into it.
At work in my studio - at the foundations stage of a new painting
Materials
The physical costs are higher than most people realise.
Enamel sheets. Archival acrylic inks. Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper - one of the finest fine art papers available. FSC-certified wood frames. Archival packaging. Carbon-neutral printing through The Printspace.
None of these are cheap and I wouldn't compromise on them. The quality of the materials is part of what you're buying, a print on Hahnemühle paper will still look the same in thirty years. A cheap digital print won't.
Time - and the Years Behind the Time
There's a well-known quote often misattributed to Picasso, when asked why a painting that took an hour cost so much, the answer was: it took a lifetime.
That's not arrogance. It's accuracy.
I studied sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art for four years, juggling three jobs to fund my final degree show. I spent a decade in the VFX industry developing a rigorous understanding of visual composition, colour and detail. I've been painting seriously since 2021 - experimenting, failing, refining, developing a process that is specifically and distinctly mine.
When you buy a piece of my work you're not paying for the hours it took to make that painting. You're paying for everything that made it possible to make it.
Training and Reputation
This is the factor most artists are too modest to mention. I'll mention it.
In 2013 I received the RSA New Contemporaries Award and exhibited at the National Galleries of Scotland - one of the most significant galleries in Scotland. In 2023 and 2024 I exhibited in seven international shows across Madrid, Milan, Brussels, New York, Barcelona and London. In September 2024 I received the Women in Art Excellence Award at the Women in Art Biennale London.
That exhibition history and those credentials are part of what gives the work its value. Not because awards define art - they don't - but because they represent a body of work that has been seen, assessed and recognised by serious people in the art world.
Reputation is built slowly. It's built into the price.
With the Award in at the Women in Art London Biennale
Edition and Exclusivity
Not all art is priced the same way because not all art is the same thing.
An original painting exists once. One painting, one home, forever. There will never be another one.
A limited edition print has a fixed number, once that edition is sold it will never be reprinted. The scarcity is real.
An open edition print like my current collections is accessible to everyone, made to order, no fixed limit. The price reflects that accessibility.
The hierarchy is straightforward: original, limited edition, open edition. The price follows the exclusivity.
Original artwork Dótaí Órga (DOH-tee OR-gah) - Golden Dots. Part of the Gorm (GUR-um - Blue) Collection. Alongside a framed giclee print from its print series.
The Exhibition and Gallery World
Something collectors rarely know: showing work internationally is expensive.
Gallery fees, shipping costs, framing, insurance, travel - exhibiting abroad requires significant financial investment from the artist. When a gallery represents you they typically take between 40% and 50% of the sale price in commission.
These realities shape how work is priced. An artist who has invested in showing their work internationally - who has the exhibition history to prove the work has been taken seriously - prices accordingly.
Bridie Keogh original artworks exhibited in New York, Barcelona and London
What You're Actually Getting
When you buy an original painting or a limited edition print from me you're getting:
A unique object made with archival materials designed to last, not for years, for decades. A work with a specific story behind it, the title, the process, the collection it belongs to. A direct relationship with the artist - I work with collectors personally, I'm reachable, I remember who has what. And the knowledge that the work has been shown in serious international venues by a formally trained, award-winning artist.
That's what's in the price.
The Honest Answer
I price my work to be sustainable, to allow me to keep making it.
Not to get rich. Not to be inaccessible. But to cover the real costs, honour the years of training and experience behind the work, and build something that lasts.
If you have questions about a specific piece or want to understand the pricing of an original before downloading the portfolio - just get in touch. I'd rather have that conversation directly.
Explore the print collections → HERE
Download the portfolio and price list for original work → HERE
Get in touch → HERE
