How much do you get paid to paint a calendar for WHSmiths?

[LennyThePenny]

At xmas they have a gazillon new calendars to choose from. I've met someone who paints a calendar for them but they said it wasn't well paid. I fancy having a go. How much d'you think you get paid? (yes I know there's agents involved etc)

If you actually know someone who does this then surely the most sensible thing to do is to actually ask them?

Fifty quid. And I'm Head of Calendar Artist Engagement at W H Smith, so I should know.

I think you win the prize for the weirdest thread on here.

What is with all the odd threads on Mumsnet today?

What you going to paint OP? Do you fancy a particular month or the whole year?

Most of the calendars in WHSmith won’t be produced by them. They’ll be produced by charities and separate businesses who will individually commission an artist. Usually the calendar producer seeks an artist out, rather than the other way round. My uncle painted one of the pictures in the RSPB calendar a few years back, and was “headhunted” for it based on his website and someone seeing something at a local exhibit. They wanted him to use a painting he’d already done (he got to present several and they picked one) and then they bought the original and the rights to copies, so he wasn’t allowed to sell prints etc. of the original once it’d been in the calendar. I believe the RSPB then auctioned off the original and took the proceeds for their charity. So, long story short, he got what he normally charges for one original painting, which is approximately £500.

😂