How much is a painting worth?

Eleanor wants to buy the Romeo and Juliet painting. How much do you think I should charge for it?
You want to sell it?
I don’t want to but she keeps asking. Twice this week.
How many copies do you have?
Only one.
Then don’t sell it until you have painted another version of it. Then keep the one you like most and sell the second-best one. Leonardo never sold the Mona Lisa, carried it around with him til he died. Who knows, the second Mona Lisa may yet be languishing in some Euro-attic.
Mmm. OK. But still I don’t know what to charge.
How much time did you spend on it?
Wash, second wash, last detail, check, oh six, eight hours over three or four days.
OK, well look. A plumber spends eight hours on a job. At fifty dollars an hour that equals four hundred dollars. Plus materials. Oh, and tax. Suggest four hundred, but give it to a friend for three-fifty.
But an artist is not the same as a plumber.
True. But both are artisans. Difference is that when you need a plumber you need one. When your pipes are not leaking you may have discretionary funds for art, but when you have a water crisis you are likely to put art purchases on hold.