Callen Schaub – What Does a £45.99 Painting Have in Common With a £54,000 One?

I came across an artist called Callen Schaub recently and his paintings are awesome. What caught my attention is that he uses acrylic pour paints in a way that isn't too different from what we do at White Glove Art. He throws, pours, spins and moves paint around to create something beautiful and completely unique.

If you look at the comments on some of his videos, you will find plenty of people saying things like "what a waste of paint" or "this isn't art". Which isn't too different from the occasional grief we get on Tiktok live. But somehow, regardless of all the negative comments on his socials, Callen has managed to build an audience of around 1.2 million people on Instagram. So clearly, quite a few people disagree with them.

Callen Schaub's numbers

According to Callen's website, he currently has 1,171 artworks listed, with 279 in stock and 907 sold. His work comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, including round canvases, hearts and some seriously large pieces. The highest price currently listed on his website is $73,552 - thats £54,156 (with free shipping)  

This is where Callen and White Glove Art start to look very different. We have more than 200 different 3D models, while Callen has built his business around mostly canvas paintings. I can sit down in an evening and paint 10, 15 or even 20 models if I've got enough orders. I can't imagine Callen is trying to paint 20 canvases in an evening, and that's probably a good thing because I don't think anyone would want to pay £40 for one of his paintings, they pay thousands.

So What's the Difference?

I think the biggest difference between myself and Callen isn't actually the painting. It's the business behind it. Callen has spent years building his name, exhibiting his work, performing live and working with major brands. His CV goes back to 2010 and includes exhibitions, performances, installations and teaching.

I've taken a very different route. I want White Glove Art to be affordable and accessible to most. Someone can buy one of our painted models for as little as £30 and put it on a shelf at home. Callen's customers are buying artwork from an established artist who's loved and hated by many with millions of followers, as a result, the prices are on a completely different level.

How Much Is Art Worth?

Art is worth what people are willing to pay for it. The paint and canvas obviously have a value, but when you're buying from an established artist, you're also buying the name, the story, the reputation and the fact that there is only one of that particular original.

It reminds me of the famous banana stuck to a wall. Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian sold for $6.2 million (£4.9 million) at Sotheby's, despite the banana itself reportedly costing around 35 cents. I don't think I'm quite ready to charge £4.9 million for one of my Dachshunds just yet. Yes, below is the actual image of this very 'piece of art'... £4.9 million

Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong

Maybe I should put my prices up like Callen and charge thousands. Maybe the reason Callen can charge so much for a painting while I'm charging £45.99 for a painted 3D model is simply because his audience sees a different value in his work. However i target the masses live on social media while making art affordable, where's Callen targets the 1% club. 

That's probably the biggest lesson I take from looking at Callen's business model. We can both grab some paint and lob it around however we like, but building the audience and the brand around it is a completely different challenge. People dont buy products, they buy from other people

One day, when White Glove Art has a million followers, maybe I'll be charging a few thousand pounds for a Pitbull. Until then, I suppose Callen is driving around in the Ferrari while I'm in the Ford Focus. But we're both still painting and having fun while doing it, and I think that's pretty cool.