How Much to Charge

Recently I have had a few people surprised at what I charge for my paintings - for a basic pet portrait in watercolour I charge just £80 - when I tell people this they seem to think I'm ripping them off!! So I feel I need to explain how I came up with this figure. The average pet portrait takes anything from 8 to 10 hours to do sometimes more - I use quality paper that costs anything from £5 a sheet - brushes and paints are ridiculously expensive and though I may not use a whole set of paints or need to replace my brushes often, I have still had to invest heavily to get them. I also offer a satisfaction guarantee that if they don't like the painting they don't have to buy it - although I have never had one rejected yet there is still the possibility that I may one day and will have worked for nothing. So I don't think I'm offering a bad service - I don't know many people that would be satisfied working for £8 an hour for skilled work. So please don't expect me to work for any less or in some cases for free - I have bills to pay just like everyone else and I'm not doing this just as a hobby.