I am starting a painting of my niece today. It will be done for my portfolio. I have pics already taken of a 11-year old boy which I will paint soon as well. The good news is I have a commissioned piece now so I am going to start moving on a career. I have to plan that out so I can make the money quicker. I won't divluge the cost as its not anything to write home about but it is good enough to get by for now.
The first two pieces I will not make any money on. But that's okay, I need to have a portfolio to sell pieces with. I'll then have 3 pieces to start with. After that I'll have a picture of a judge. By that point, I will be able to make some flyers and get them mailed out. I am waiting word on another commissioned piece. My goal is to getall of the paintings done in roughly 2 to 3 weeks each. That will mean I should have a decent portfolio to market myself by the end of March. I also plan on posting quite a few new pics on my website as well. I'm gathering some artwork from my house in Florence. I'll probably also post some illustrations under an illustration tab. I need to go back to Florence to get them but I am planning on going there next weekend.
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I have six paintings that I may be painting. In my mind the first three are the most important as they are going to start my portfolio for advertising my services.
There are two possible commissions which may make me a little money. Four may not make money at all. These four will be portfolio pieces and self-promotion pieces. Some may need to be put on the back burner while pursuing the money pieces first. This leaves two directions. First to pursue the pieces that will bring notoriety (judges, politicans, business leaders) or second, to pursue the path to the top. I will explain... I plan on being one of the best portrait painters in the country, hoping quality will set me apart and bring me commissions. I believe in myself and can do this with hard work. I'm anxious to get paid pieces lined up though. I may supplement my income in a couple of different ways. Art lessons and pencil portraits. I figure I can do pencil pieces in a day or two and can charge around $250 (single figure) for a standard-sized portrait. I may need to keep these lose and sketchy, not completely tight as this may slow my pace on getting the oils done. I also know that at some point I am going to have to increase prices on anything I do as my plan is to do this as my career, not do it completely out of generosity. That is where you all come in. This is a little bit of self promotion but I am offering myself to do pencil drawings at this price if anyone is interested in some portraits. Drop me an email or call me and we will try to set something up. I am only working from photos but they must be large enough or detailed enough for me to gather the details needed to draw the piece with. I may or may not continue pencil drawings depending on the path my career takes me. I would like to get at least 4 per month though as that may be enough to give me a base salary to move forward with and supplement my career with larger and more expensive pieces. As I said though, these prices may increase. I will be starting my first portrait next week. It will be a portfolio piece. I have been in the prep stages of getting going; buying all necessary paints, supplies etc. I hate having to spend money as I still have my mortgage due but am taking a calculated risk that my home will sell anyways. This portrait should take 3-4 weeks to complete. It is going to be an arduous task if I may say so but should be rewarding when finished.
I woke up the other morning early and was thinking about how to approach painting this. My mindset has gone from managing in newspapers to painting. That is good. Mentally and emotionally I have made this transition. Physically I can do it but do need to take better care of my body as it is important. I received some much needed criticism from someone whom I respect strongly on some pieces of mine. It makes me realize that I often will seek shortcuts but in doing, each portrait must be done professionally. I shouldn't seek shortcuts if they don't fit the piece. Prestige is everything in painting portraits. As of right now I have just a small amount of prestige but not enough to do this as a living. Of course it is my goal to increase my status. I have three pieces I am planning to do right now and they all will be done for free. That means I won't really be able to make money on this for about 2 to three months as each one should take at least a month to complete. The first is a picture of an 11 year old boy. I need to have a child's portrait in my portfolio. The next is of a judge. I figured someone in judge's robes would be an impressive looking picture. Plus I can get some press coverage for that. The third is of a mayor. That is some prestige. None of these are really the big "in" for me though. They will establish a portfolio for me though in which I can advertise and get my business started. I am doing these all for free in a sense. In other words, I am doing them for free but will take donations if they wish to give them.
Now this is all great but it still isn't the great break I need. However, I may have found that yesterday. I have a friend who is running for US Congress. He is a Republican in a strongly Republican district. He is unopposed in his primary. Therefore he stands a good chance of winning. I just got an email back from him yesterday in which he would allow me to paint his portrait should he win. This is the "in" that I am looking for. To begin with, it will strengthen me in my native home town and will allow me to advertise there. Also it will allow me to advertise in the Washington DC area. That, to me, is where I really expect the money to be. Although I have done a lot of watercolor in my life I am switching to Oil Painting. I have not been comfortable in the past working with oils as it takes longer to dry and I haven't done too well mastering that. However, I took a flyer this time and decided to try it. I have been using them like watercolor lately. I am quite pleased with what has happened.
I have created a self-induced schedule of projects to get me to become a full time portrait artist. I did a study painting of my father's face. This wasn't complete but it was necessary as I needed to see if I could do what I wanted to do with oil paints. The piece is okay, but not completely up to my standards. Next I decided to do a still life. It is of fruit. I did it because I needed to know that I could paint textures and colors correctly. I must say this is turning out quite impressive. I am going to start painting portraits next week. I have a plan to do three pieces to build up my portfolio. The first is a child, the second is a mayor, the third is a judge. I also am seeking to find a way to do a candidate for the US Congress who is one of my friends.
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AuthorI started drawing when I was 13 years old. I had no posters on my wall and didn't have the money for them. Therefore I drew them. I have been exclusively a watercolor painter, although not conventional at it. I am transisting to oil paints. ArchivesCategories |