cdaniel

Hi, this is Cynthia Daniel, owner and creator of Stroke of Genius. I also managed a successful portrait artist for 6 years.

Regarding reaching the affluent market, there are a couple of networking to the affluent books in my Art Bookstore in the Marketing-Sales section. I've not read them and couldn't vouch for them, but I do notice that some have ordered these books. If anyone has read these books and would like to comment on them, perhaps this would shed some light. They are not specific to art, but I thought they sounded relevant for artists.

There's no magic formula for reaching the affluent and part of it has to do with the area of the country where you are. Some areas are easier than others because there is a greater tradition of portraiture. Typically, portraiture is very popular in the South for anyone who doesn't already know.

But, before you even start to pursue an affluent market, one thing would be to look at your materials and samples. Do you people in your portraits look like they are affluent? If not, you might not be chosen even if an affluent person sees your work. I've known artists who went out and hired an attractive model or got an attractive friend and had them pose in a gown...something elegant. All this just so they could have the type of portrait in their portfolio that would appeal to the affluent. Also, if you have only head and shoulders or bust portraits, this decreases the possibility of appealing to the affluent. This is very elementary, but often overlooked. Also, study some of the higher priced artists on my site and see what they are painting.

That's it for now.