Hello. I'm a portrait painter full-time. I can draw and paint from life, but I am more comfortable working from photographs in the comfort of my own home. Working at home produces the most accurate likeness of a person, or whatever subject, for me. I use a projector to trace outlines first. When I paint, I use a magnifying glass on top of the photo...look through the lens with my left eye....hold my head still...keep both eyes open....paint the portrait with my right eye. Sort of superimposing the photo on the canvas. This let's me make sure things are the right size and in the right place. Otherwise, without this method, I'm totally guessing.
My business is uncertain right now. I'm not as booked up as I'd like to be. To advertise, I put samples of my work in Frame shops, or dog clinics. I sometimes rent a booth at an art festival. (None of this advertising seems to work very well. Lately, people find me by word of mouth or google). There's one portrait painter in town that will set up an easel outside a frame store. Although his/her artwork doesn't look very good to me, lots of people take his/her business cards. This artist paints from a photo while passers-by watch. I COULD do it this way, but I would produce a product that isn't nearly as accurate as I make at home. Yet, I might get more business if I would just do it like this artist does it. Apparently, the public doesn't care if it's not a perfect likeness. It really bugs me every time I run across this person...only because it makes me second-guess what I'm doing. I'm not sure I'm feeling jealousy...I feel it's more that this artist is taking away customers from me ...when I COULD produce art that looks better (if from my home studio)!
I wish I could find a job that would let me be comfortable with myself, pay well enough, and something that's interesting. I'm not looking to make lots of money, but I don't want to live in substandard housing either.
My family says I
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