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Originally Posted by Heidi Maiers
Hi Ngaire,
..... and maybe some here who feel they really have reached their goals will share some of their secrets to success (other than raw talent, hard work, and perserverence). I think some of your questions deal with which outside influences were important in shaping that path to success.
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Heidi, you put it nicely, thanks.
Interesting, that I have never seen a portrait artist working live - up until yesterday when, low and behold, I went to our little shopping centre and there was a man set up with an aluminium easel/frame outfit, painting portraits from photos that were placed behind a magnifiying light. The big sign says "Portraits in Oils for $70 on plain background, $12 extra for detailed background" B&W sketches $30.
The sign also said that he could take a photo for $6. That is for an Oil painting 16 x 20 in size.
So naturally I positioned myself and stayed for two hours watching him. I had no seat but I crouched and stood at varying times, asking questions that he was most reluctant to answer. I grabbed a business card and it said Pub and Portrait Artist.
Apparently he is from Western Australia on the East Coast (thousands of miles away) and travels constantly like a gypsie for nearly 12 months of the year. He stays in mostly bigger towns/cities for three weeks at each venue. The remarkable thing other than what he charges is that he does a completed 16 x 20 oil, shoulder/head in two hours. I have never seen anyone work that fast. He said his drawings take about 30 minutes.
Although I am a beginner I saw what I thought was a lot of no-no's, like when he takes a photo he uses a flash, his turps tin was thick with paint residue next to a dirty well used rag and his biggest brush was a size 6 flat looked like a watercolour sable. I suppose they aren't no-no's for him anyway, but he has no reason to use archival quality he is only after a quick sale and leave town. He had a suitcase with slits to hold the wet oils until the owners came and picked them up. He just takes the money and gives them the wet oil painting, the clients percariously hold their hands underneath of it and balancing it all the way to their car. People were cueing up for them, he only came here this week and his three weeks are 90% booked up already. He sketches from photos at night when he leaves at 4.30pm back in his bus. He said they were many dog/human portraits (doubles)booked as well as normal couples(husbands and wives etc).
I thought to myself, that the public will think this is how it is done normally and if I come in later with different prices, they may feel they are being ripped off. He made no suggestions to getting it framed, sealed or any caring instructions. I will strive to get the upper market I think.
He worked like a colouring in book approach, he did have a well executed drawing to work from before placing darks in shapes and lines and then blended the mid tones up till the highlights and moved from left to right, starting with the pupils, eye socket, nose, mouth, forehead, chin, hair line, hat and came back to the skin flesh after this adding the highlights as well. When he was just about finished with the background, he came back and touched up the highlights and voila! An 16 x 20 oil in two hours. He mostly used 0, 1, 3, brushes and hat mass and skin mass with the 5, 6 brush. The likeness was about 80%
I am not sure that I gained any valuable information although to make money, you meet the masses by bringing the prices down and working extremely fast. I am not sure that is the way to go though.
I came away with a lot of unanswered questions and bewilderment. So close but yet so far.