How to get the in-come coming?

[Melanie Peter]

Hi Chris,
Well, darn. I'm up against Mac discrimination again. Working Artist software is only for PCs. They should realize that lots of artists are loyal Mac users from having to work in advertising jobs. They'd make more money if they had a Mac version.
_Melanie

[Michele Rushworth]

This painting is absolutely gorgeous. If you're offering these at $400 that's exactly why you're not getting commissions. Offer them at $2,000 (at least) and do some serious marketing to the right audience in the nearest city with some wealth. Let us know in six months how long your backlog is. I'm really not joking. This is what you need to do.

[Stanka Kordic]

Melanie, Melanie, Yes, raise those prices!!! Your years of experience alone warrants this, not to mention the quality of your work.

Holy smokes, I can on and on about that darned "sad" issue. Do people think we only have 2 emotions?? I actually have to have a debriefing session with potential clients to let them know my thoughts on this matter. If they don't understand how NOT smiling DOES NOT mean they are depressed, well...I'm not your gal. Of course, this comes after doing several happy portraits with no soul. Like you said, the person has to be naturally as they are, not forced.

Chris made a great point about NOT catering to what we painters are 'supposed' to paint . Do what you feel strongly about and the clients will eventually come. It took me a long time to have a steady flow of work. Frankly, it doesn't necessarily come locally. A website would do wonders for you to extend your reach, advertise your many accomplishments and most importantly, to connect to the right type of clients.

Chris, What have I been doing? Practicing yoga in between writing a treatise on "To Smile or Not to Smile. That is the Question" Nothing like a button pusher question to get me back here in a fury

Melanie, Thanks for your kind words about the work. Don't give up!!

[Sharon Knettell]

Melanie,

I am probably not the one that should be replying here, but I really admire your work. It is so sensitive, human and honest.

It is, as I know, really difficult to survive doing figurative work these days.The only option that pops up, it seems is portraiture. Perhaps it is my personality, but I could not get beyond allowing the client control over my work. I did NOT care if the client liked my picture, I had to like it. I did and occasionally still do get a decent buck for a portrait, but the final straw came during a commission but a very prominent and wealthy Newport couple. They swore up and down that they would sit, that I had complete control over the portrait, that they would stay out of it decision wise.

After, I had spent a fair amount of money and time on the project, the client told me he wanted to pick the pictures I would paint from and that there would be no sittings. I had to finish the paintings, but I had ceased to care about them. They were professional, that's it. Ironically, since the gentleman was wearing a tuxedo, the pose he picked, made him look just like a waiter.

I do not like smiling portraits as well, whether they are children or adults and won't do them.

Promoting yourself as a portrait painter can be time consuming and as you found out very expensive. I don't know about your area, but the portrait market can be quite saturated. The portrait painters I know here in the Northeast are complaining of lack of commissions, no backlogs, some of whom are very good and well known.

I have concentrated on my own work and though the finances can be dicey, I am expressing my own point of view. My work has started to be noticed and it is some pretty flossy homes and I don't sell it cheap.

There are painters who are well suited to the business, really love it, are good at it and apparently do quite well. You have to decide if you really, really love it because it is something you have to devote a great deal of time and energy developing.

I just though I would present the other side of the coin.

[Melanie Peter]

Hello Sharon,
I just got electricity back after hurricane Jeanne. We spent days this weekend hauling fallen trees out of yards. Thanks so much for talking about your experiences and talking about how the business of portrait painting isn't for everyone. It's true. I think the business of art in general isn't for everyone. The fact that I passionatley love painting the figure and do it well does not mean that I passionately love painting commissioned portraits. I don't. I get a mild wave of nausea thinking about it. That gut feeling is certainly something to consider. But I'm up against a wall financially with little skill other than the one I have been honing for 40 years (drawing and painting.)

Here's a quote from a book I bought yesterday called The Undressed Art by Peter Steinhart. "I am consoled by the idea that failing to make a living at art has a long and honorable tradition. Even more than that I am consoled by thought that there is a great deal of human genius that is not rewarded materially, or at least not in porportion to its contribution to the general well-being. Parenting isn't. Nor is compassion."

Do you know Robert Genn's newsletters? (http://www.painterskeys.com)
Here is my letter which I wrote to him last week about income. He needed to cut it but here it is in entirety. You can see that I'm really feeling down about the problem.
_Melanie

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"I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart." - e e cummings

"Basically, I no longer work for anything but the sensation I have while working." - Albert Giacometti

Dear Robert,
I've been painting for 40 years. I work hard to excel, I study art, artists, art history. I only wish that palette systems, creativity issues, materials, techniques, subject matter, style, or productivity were my only concerns. They are my favorite and beloved concerns, but the one called "making a living" supercedes the rest and spoils the fun. All these years later and I still haven't figured out how to make a living. I'm not alone- many books have been written about it and I probably have read them all.

Money does not appear in my mental landscape. It is as invisible and remote to me as one of Jupiter's moons. At my last job, the accountant was amused at having to chase me down to deliver my paycheck. I forget about money being connected with work. I especially forget about it being connected with my art. Even doing commission work, I'm doing it without thought of money. It's always surprising to me that someone actually pays me for art. I do not think of my 40 years of experience as related to say, 40 years of being a plumber or attorney. I think of it more financially related to 40 years of being a monk.

This is high-pressure work with low or no pay. No on the job training, no job description, no one to ask "am I doing this right?", no superior to bear the consequences for difficult decisions. I'm painting as if my livelihood depends on it. (It does) But, in addition to the technical and creative problems, every move I make is heavy with income-significance. Portraits? Landscapes? Outdoor shows? High level competitions? What to paint that is both good and marketable? Teach classes? Workshops? Make a video? Write articles? Get an agent? I have a notebook full of marketing ideas. I get around to them whenever I can.

Today I'm tired. I want to quit and get a nice job with a regular paycheck. However, during each period in my years as artist that I've taken a job, my heart begins aching and emptiness grows. After a year or two I quit; meanwhile my art career has slowed down and my job history has holes in it which make jobs harder to find.

No upbeat conclusion. I'll keep trying until I catch on or pass on, whichever comes first.
_Melanie Peter

[Michele Rushworth]

A very interesting letter, Melanie. Thanks for posting it here.

If you get a wave of nausea thinking about doing commissioned portraits, I dare say that you shouldn't subject yourself to that. Perhaps teaching would be more lucrative, more steady and far more emotionally rewarding for you. Many students would benefit greatly from a teacher with skills as advanced as yours.

[Melanie Peter]

Hi Michelle,
And thanks, I do enjoy teaching. I have a very good education, but not an art degree. I teach at local arts centers and organizations. I do it for fun, to get my name out there and keep in touch with people who love art. But not for money.These classes are more or less volunteer efforts on my part. Arts organizations are typically struggling and pay almost nothing. I doubt I'll be able to make a living teaching. I've been turned down for more than one job because I lack that degree. If I get enough spectacular highlights on my resume, maybe I'll get a real teaching job without having a degree? Or if I become locally well-known, it might be possible to teach privately from my studio. I should have had better sense when I graduated from high school so many years ago, but instead of gettting a degree, I became a single mom--an education of a different sort. It's all ancient history now.
_Melanie