How to get the in-come coming?

[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

[Sharon Knettell]

Melanie,

My first mentor, and first husband said you have to take a vow of poverty to become an artist.

I have been struggling for about as long as you have. I am beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel and, no, it is not the train coming the other way.

I found I was not emotionally suited to do portraiture, I felt the same wave and so did Sargent who quit at the age of 50.

I spent a great deal of money promoting my work, models, paints, canvas etc. to do a portfolio; then slides, mailings, exhibits, societies, wardrobe and travel. You have to consider this as well because it takes a while to recoup these expenses.

Another alternative is to find something that pays you the most per hour that you can. We have a Whole Foods here, a natural food grocery store, that will give you medical and 20% off your food bill for 30 hours a week. I was tossing that around until I sold some of my big pastels.

I don't have a degree either but I was able to land a part time job at the Rhode Island School of Design, it is a private school and you don't have to have a degree to teach in one.
I was there for three years.

You severely under price your work. You can sit on it for a cheap price or a high price.

Keep sending out those slides. I was in the same contest you were (honorable mention) but I will not sell my work cheap. Build up a local reputation in Florida. There are some great galleries there, and they seem to like figurative work.
Do the most beautiful, full throttle work you can do. I know it is difficult when you get older when fatigue and worthlessness sets in faster than ever. There were times in the past when I would just sit down on a sidewalk and cry.
Rejections are still hard, I got one last week, but I am starting to get some notice from the art magazines.

I saw the movie "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" last night. There was a scene, that to me was most telling. He was sitting with his mother-in-law and a wealthy patron. The mother-in-law trills to Vermeer, oh it would be such a wonderful painting if you were to paint Meister A. with his family playing music or whatever. At this point Vermeer is studying the light on the lovely young maid's face and you could see that he was choiceless.

My husband said to me, he should have done whatever it was to support his family, however we would never have seen that exquisite painting. What was perhaps a loss for his family, was a gift to humanity.

I don't know if any of this helps.

[Kimberly Dow]

Melanie-

Your letter was moving and most likely hit home to more here than would admit. Sharon, I admire you for your responses. Sometimes it seems as if we are supposed to put on this air of 'professionalism' and that does not include admitting to the fact we are struggling financially.

In this career we have chosen it is so much more to most of us than a paycheck. If it weren't we'd get other jobs in a hearbeat. I have no idea where I heard it, but it was some older artist advising a younger one..."if you can be anything else other than an artist, then do it."

I struggle with finaincial issues all the time. When I look over the years I realize that my choice to be an artist has hurt my family. If I were to be a teacher or just about anything else it would have benefitted my family much more. I am blessed that I have an understanding and supportive family, but there have been times (like my daughter's accident last year) when I felt the burden of knowing we could be in a better place if it weren't for my drive to paint. Restaurant management was my field during the times I felt I had to earn a regular paycheck. I usually lasted 8 months at a stretch before being so miserable I'd have to quit. Luckily I have not had to do this for 8 years now.

Last month one of my landscapes was accepted into a show that was being judged by a big shot in Washington DC. My mother happens to live in Annaoplis, MD where the show was being held so I shipped the painting to her to deliver. I had re-framed it modestly for the show, but she called to tell me that I should be ashamed of myself and that she would be embarassed to deliver it with that frame - so she had it re-framed and would be waiting for my check to pay for it. I got a lecture from her that if I was going to do this than I should do it right, etc...no excuses. That's a great attitude, but left me feeling like a failure since I couldn't afford a nice frame at the time. Granted, she doesn't know a thing abotu trying to juggle the expenses of an art career - and she has been one of my biggest supporters - but that small thing sent me into a couple of days of questioning my worth. Needless to say, I haven't thanked her for taking it upon herself to reframe the painting - nor have I mailed the check yet! The painting did not win an award or sell so far - so she will just have to wait.

Is there are career more filled with angst than being an artist? More personally fufilling or depressing? Do you think accountants cry over their sucesses and failures? Does a restaurant owner question his self-worth when the meal gets sent back?

I have always felt I was completely selfish in keeping with this career, but that I have no choice if I want to live a life worth living. If momma ain't happy....as the saying goes.

My hat is off to all the single-parent artists out there and to the artists who are the primary bread-winners of their families.

This may not help you at all, but "I feel your pain."

[Linda Brandon]

We live in a culture where only a small percentage of people care enough about original art to spend money on it, and the market for realist painting, much less portraiture, is smaller still.

I was in a very expensive home the other day and here is what was on the four walls:
1. Gigantic TV screen and stereo system
2. Gigantic picture window
3. Framed hockey jersey with signatures on it
4. Another Gigantic picture window.

The whole house was like that, only gigantic photographs and framed posters were substitued for the hockey jersey. It's just occured to me that there might be a market for gigantic portraits... .

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Originally Posted by Melanie Peter

Or if I become locally well-known, it might be possible to teach privately from my studio.

Hi Melanie,

I was just reading through your posts and this sentence jumped out at me. This is a great idea for you!

I just started taking a class yesterday from a local artist. She teaches out of her home, she has a room where we paint. I think at one time it was a den in the back of her home, it's just a room off her living room with windows on three sides. It's not a large room but there are 7 students and a model in the room.

The woman teaching the class has been painting portraits for about 30 years, but I had never heard of her. She teaches portraiture and we'll do some still lifes.

She teaches two classes a week in her home. The class is from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with a short break for a brown bag lunch. And get this, she's charging $65 a class. I hope this gives you something to think about doing that you might love doing,

Joan

[Melanie Peter]

Hi Joan,
Yes, thanks for telling me about the classes you're taking. She must be a good teacher. Private lessons from my home --I did that a couple of years ago when I occupied my own home/studio in the town where I grew up and where I was known. It worked out fine. Only problem was that I had to keep my house clean! But I can live with that.

I'm now married and living in a new town where I'm only beginning to be known. Also there is not a room in this house that would work. We're planning to build me a studio that I can teach out of, but that's a distant dream right now. I could rent a studio, but that's a scary thought with hundreds of dollars due each month.

I'm doing a lot to get my work out there. A new gallery in town will hang 2 of my portraits and I'll show in the juried downtown art festival in November. I'll put a sign up sheet out for interested students. Many people at previous outdoor shows have asked if I teach. Last time I taught from my home I charged $120 for 12 hours in 4 three-hour sessions over 4 weeks, with a $5/session model fee paid directly to the model. I had 4 students in the classes. I've never managed to find more than 4 to sign up. But it was great because I didn't have to haul my wagonload of supplies to some classroom, up and down stairs, etc. And I could run to my bookshelf and grab a helpful book to show at an appropriate moment. I like teaching that way (at home) a lot.

There are many artists who want classes but get sticker shock when they hear $10 or $15/hour. They can take classes at local art centers or colleges very cheaply. They get what they pay for, but they don't understand that.

Yes, I think teaching privately will work for me if I can find students around here.
_Melanie

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Hi Melanie,

I'm glad you find the idea of teaching at home intriguing, it sounds like you've had success with this already. You might have some kind of 'guest book' or notebook of some sort that you can ask people to sign if they are interested in classes. That way you'll have a record of names and contact information when you do get ready to have a class.

The great thing about the class I just started is that it's a group of women that love to paint, and they've become friends and share stories, etc. I have taken classes at the art school here and yes, they are about half the price, but it's a big classroom full of people I'll never see again after the semester ends. And those teachers aren't very good, they basically walk around the room and give pointers, no demonstrations or anything like that. Getting to know some other people who love to paint is a bonus of the private class and worth some extra cost. I've only been to one class so I can't really judge how good of an instructor the teacher is. It's a chance to paint in a supportive environment, that's what many people are looking for. If you can provide that, it seems like you could get many students.

Oh, another little attraction of this private class is the 'show' they'll have in December. Besides painting models, we'll paint a few still lifes to sell at the show. The friend that introduced me to the teacher said she makes back her class fee from her sales. I guess it's all about marketing!

Hope this helps.

Joan

P.S. You might look around for studio space and just see what the cost really is. I found out here in Houston it goes for about $1 per square foot per month, which isn't unreasonable if it allows you to teach a class and have a nice painting space. Good luck!

Also, thanks for mentioning that link to 'Painter's Keys', I had never seen that before and have enjoyed reading the 'letters'. Any more great inspirational links? I should start a new thread asking for that.