If you're able to find out what brand of watercolors and/or pencils she uses, and what colors she uses most often, that might be helpful.
If she's serious about pursuing a professional career as an artist, Art/Work is a really valuable reference for navigating the business side of the industry.
Who is her favorite artist? You may be able to find a nice catalog of their work on AbeBooks or Amazon.
Anyone trying to pursue art as a business should read this book - art/work it’s for logistical business advice. I love this book and know several other artists who also use it.
> Just wanted to point out that I posted on r/Art early this morning and they were surprisingly unhelpful.
No surprise there.
I recommend you buy a copy of Art/Work as soon as possible. It looks like you could even download a digital copy of it tonight for $4. It's a good primer for writing resumes, bios, and all the other professional aspects to the art market.
You might not like this answer but... here we go: $1,000, which is very low, but here's the thing, if your clients like your work, they'll keep coming back, and as they do so you can raise your prices to 1,250, then 1,500, then 1,750 then 2,000; effectively doubling your prices.
If you think that the starting price of $1,000 is too low (it is) do $2,000.
NOTE: one of the reason why $1,000 or $2,000 is too low is that you're not just selling art, you're selling the right to reproduce your art. Traditionally if someone buys a piece of art, let's say a painting, they do not have the right to make copies and profit from the image of such art, you do.
TIP: buy this book, I've read it, there's a lot of boring stuff, a lot of obvious stuff, but it covers pricing guidelines, commissioned work (you need to read that part), licensing (that's what you are doing when someone uses your images for t-shirts, album covers, etc...).
Hey, is this the book you're referring too? I know it's not related to OP's question, but it's been answered pretty well already..
To answer your question "as asked"
> are there any places that would buy it?
The answer is "NO"
It's not that simple.
But, yur friend needs to up his game and start the process of putting his art for sale.
These are the best 2 resources that I know:
no problem. if youre in classes, schedule some office hours and have a serious conversation with your instructors. if they cant offer direct advice, they should at least be able to refer you to someone.
You can also call local photographers/businesses and ask for quotes on hypothetical jobs
Art/Work is a pretty great book to give you a framework to pursue the business of art making. Lots of great advice from professionals.
If you arent already, please start keeping a log of your expenses. I always have a notebook to record exposure values and other notes - keeping a ledger of price of items purchased, time committed and so on will help you adjust your final asking prices. It also makes taxes crazy easier/not terrifying. Good organization is key. Have a nice accordion folio with 12+ folders to store monthly receipts. put it all into excel pages for easy book keeping.
just be aware that depending upon your business type... it is very difficult to raise prices on existing clients. Bigger clients wont be bothered as long as your work warrants it and you arent raising above market/competitor value. Better to negotiate higher rates from the get go and YOU spend more of YOUR time to making a project as polished as possible. Over time youre learn your trade and work faster, thus making more money
edit: also. never accept a gallery to frame your work for you. its a con. the gallery will charge you above material cost if your work doesnt move. there are several "gallery" frame shops in town who do this. dont just throw your work up anywhere. visit the place and be sure theyre trying to move your work.
rather than hang in local businesses (and relegate your work to "art object"), spend your time applying to exhibitions/contest/artist calls/shows/etc. if your into editorial work, try to partner with local aspiring journalists or even product designers. group up with them to complete a project. or even just start your own project and publish it online