Art Dealing, on the low...

I am sure that this is a question that many new artists might have? How do you charge for your time? I have attempted to use the mark
your hours method and that sometimes adds up to a price that would appear that it was a missing Monet. It's unreasonable (to me)
but that said, When I really break things down and put it logically -as if it were me working 9-5 and punching a time clock, it's not too unreasonable.
Recently, I had the pleasure of chatting with an artist that does remarkable work, but I was completely in awe over his sales.
So, I asked him about his formula to pricing his paintings and he kindly gave me the same information that I read before when trying to
price my own.
He did say something to me that made even better sense, because no sales (to me) meant failure. For instance, when a customer comes to see your work
and loves it but it's 'too much money' or asks you to paint a portrait of their family, but 'has no idea that it's that much money.' While I try to not take
this personally, it sorta is... I mean, If I spend 70 hours working on a portrait of a person, technically speaking, that is 10 hours shy of a Monday thru Friday
9-5 job. That said, I'm getting paid below minimum wage (and was even been stiffed by someone after working a month on their painting!)
He eloquently said the best comeback ever, "You are dealing with uneducated art buyers."
It completely flipped the script for me! I immediately felt better about not making sales, While great to hear, I still want to sell my work-not give it away. So he suggested that I find different circles to travel and look into an Art Broker.
I have googled every term imaginable. Art Broker, Art Dealer, Art Seller, Art Marketer, Art Assistant. How do I find this Magic Man??
While I do okay on the Marketing part, it's personal, so naturally, the chips go down with the dip.
I would love to hear your feedback on your success in Marketing your art, if you use some type of Broker and how do YOU price your work? What is
your secret formula? (Promise, I will keep your secret!) ;-)

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