If you're going to paint portraits....where is the best place to live?
 

So, you've decided to be a portrait artist.

Where in the country do you think portraits sell the best and where is the best place to feed not only your wallet, but your soul?

I believe that fine art portraiture does its best in the "Deep South", with New York as a second, and Washington, DC as a third.

But this is only from things that I have been told.

What do you think is the best place in the country to live and paint portraits? How does where you live rank?

If the deep south is the best place to set up shop as a portrait painter, then I would think more educational opportunities would exist in the deep south, masters opening their studios to train apprentices....or perhaps south Florida is too deep? ;)

American classical realism seems to be centered in NYC, Minneapolis, DC, Atlanta...all towns woven of rich cultural fabric.

It is my guess that Arizona is not one of the places you'd want to be. Other than a few cosmopolitan pockets this side of the Mississippi, such as San Francisco, LA or Denver, traditional portraiture still seems to be an old Southern, and old Eastern tradition.

I think there is a lot of potential as long as you live in a populated area, no matter what state it is. There is something about our species that loves things that are personalized, and portraiture is one of them. And although us Westerners don't have the portraiture tradition on our side, there are an awful lot of people from the south, New York, etc that move out here and bring their traditions with them. So, I say, circle the wagons! Go west young man, go west!

Michael,

My marketing experience supports your statements.

Mari,

Florida is geographically south, but not steeped in the tradition of the Old South. I'm sure you know that many Floridians are transplanted from other parts of the country...but, mostly northern states rather than the Old South states.

However, I'm sure you also know that within Florida, your city of Sarasota is particularly known for the arts...lucky you! I don't know for sure, but I would think Naples is also. There's a lot of money in Naples.

Thinking out loud to anyone reading,

...wonder if this thread should go under the Business section of the forum?

I live in the North East, 2 hours from Boston in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Portraits do NOT sell like "hotcakes" here.

It is a tradition for "Old Yankees" with money to have many ancestral portraits hanging in their homes....but they seldom think to have the current generation painted.

I am convinced that because the southern culture is "portrait minded," the ideal place for a portrait artist to live and paint would be in the deep south. And Montgomery, Alabama might be the best place for a portrait artist (who has a southern accent) to make a living. I'm not sure that as a "northerner," I would be accepted even if I chose to live there.

Because of its size and mixture of people, Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC might be places where someone with a northern accent would "fit in" better.

However, despite my obscure northern rural location, I have enough work from all over the country thanks to Cynthia Daniel's "Stroke of Genius." Whew!

Seattle is a fantastic place to live, and my uncle was a very successful portrait artist there, who also is retired.

I would have to say the South. I'm a Southern girl who is new to portraiture and I stay busy. Not complaining about my geography!

Renee Price

Sometimes a portrait artist will be successful in an unexpected location because they get connected with and admired by just the right person (usually wealthy and well-connected) who becomes a strong supporter and word-of-mouth promoter. These are good to have. If you get in with the right person, you can be passed around amongst the social group and stay busy for years.

South vs North...y'all!
 

Although Russellville, KY is not a surprising location to be (it's referred to as mid-south, about 45 min - 1 hour north of Nashville), the "word-of-mouth" type of publicity happened to me while living there for almost 9 years. In such a tight-knit and SMALL community, it's easy for word to get out about a newcomer from the (dreaded?) north possessing the unique talents of an artist. And, as luck would have it, I had no competition within town. As a result, my commissions gradually increased through the years (actually, I got my start there in portraiture, having been a freelance fashion illustrator in my home state of NJ). I even wound up with a few commissions from Nashville, Bowling Green KY, St. Louis, Charlotte, and Florida.

However, as Karin alluded to, I, as a northerner, dreaded or otherwise, never felt COMPLETELY accepted by the locals. I was accepted due to my uniqueness, but only on THAT level....in THEIR minds, once a northerner, always a northerner, I guess. Despite all that, I must say that I would indeed love to return to the south one day (after the kids graduate from High School?), but nearer the coast.

The situation I was in after a divorce in '97 prompted me to move back to my hometown in NJ in late '99. Since then, VERY little has happened for me in the art world (except a rejection from my very first attempt to enter a juried show)...resulting in having to take a part-time job. This state in particular is extremely populated, so trying to find just the right niche in which to get that word-of-mouth spreading has been very difficult. And, it doesn't help when I hear people (even my boss at work!) tell me such discouraging things as "it's more of a southern thing", and "people won't pay your price" (I don't think $400 for a head and shoulders in pastel is too high).

I tried a 1/4 page ad in a new "exclusive" publication, but to no avail. I realize that advertising needs to occur repeatedly and consistently in order to get noticed, but at $600 a "pop", it's out of my budget. So, in the meantime, I'm in a dry spell, trying to figure out what to do next. I'm at this site all the time and try to soak up all of the advice from "y'all"...keep it coming! In the end, I guess I could say that KY has (so far) proven to be a better location from which to work as a portrait artist than NJ. Hopefully, I can prove that wrong...wish me luck!

P. S. The BEST thing did happen to me, though, after moving back to NJ....I married the love of my life...and you can't BEAT that!! :sunnysmil

Two cents worth
 

Here are my honest thoughts on the subject. Live where you like, and where you can afford the cost of living, and ship. Also there's a book out; "The Best 100 Art Places to Live in the US", or something like that. I've been to eight or nine of those and I agree that all are great little towns. Oklahoma doesn't have any towns in the book and I agree with that.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think that for "Fine Art Portraiture", the best choice may be somewhere in the South. As you may extrapolate, I am contemplating a move. Right now, it is down to Hilton Head vs. Charleston. I leave for a 10 day trip next Sunday to explore and house hunt with my wife. We have high hopes.

It seems that for gallery work, Tim is correct - live where you like. For portraiture however, it is clear that where you live can be an advantage. :)

Tim,

Is there any way you can check the title on that book "The Best 100 Art Places to Live in the US". I've searched numerous ways both on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and found nothing.

Cynthia

Art towns
 

Cynthia,

I believe the book may be "The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America; Where to Find Fresh Air, Creative People and Affordable Living" by John Villani.

I remember seeing the book at the library and I thought it said something about 'art towns' in the title.

I hope this is the correct book.

Gina

Charge 'em, Michael
 

Just charge 'em for out of town expenses - then you'll be an expert if you travel.

Gina,

Thanks, you're right. I thought I had it in my bookstore and I do at http://portraitartist.com/bookstore/communities.htm.

Well, being born and raised in Pumpkin Center, Louisiana, I guess I am about as deep south as you can get, ya'll. Lucky for me, Pumpkin Center is almost the first exit off of I-55 north of New Orleans. It is also on 30 minutes on I-12 from Baton Rouge.

We are talking small town deep south. As such, you have different cliques, so that almost all that is necessary is for one soccer mom, one dance mom or one pokeno player to commission you and word of mouth has spread. The problem is getting them to come up with enough money to make it worth your time, but I am getting there. When you are sort of new at this, some people are hesitant. The good thing is that these moms experience a large amount of peer pressure amongst themselves. What one does they almost all "just have ta have it".

Good Luck all!
Rebecca

I have learned that where I'm living, Bellingham, Washington, is a fast growing retirement community and most of the people already have all of the art they can collect. Although I have just spoken with a photography studio whose work I like (young married couples, prom portraits and lots of children) and offered to do a display portrait of one of the staff. I also suggested a commission of 30% for each portrait commissioned through their establishment. Have to wait for the word from the owner and will let you all know what happens. Getting the big bucks, or what the painting is really worth, may have to wait, but I've got to get started on this.

There does seem to be a limited market here for landscapes and seascapes.

Here's an interesting article from Art Calendar magazine, February 2001 issue. SOG artist Joy Thomas lives in the Paducah area. However, I don't know specifically about portraiture in that area. I know that Joy flys throughout the U. S.

Small Town, Big on Art
Paducah, KY and Its Artist Relocation Program

by Stacy Smith Rogers

Halfway between St. Louis and Nashville lies a city in Kentucky named Paducah. Though it is slow in pace, it is fast-becoming a community known for its arts. Through the visionary efforts of several individuals, an artist relocation program was born in 2000 and its birth has showered the city with prospective participants from around the country.

Paducah

I'm moving!
 

My bags are packed.

Where to live or where to sell?
 

I feel that except for the emotional reasons for living somewhere and of course finding housing you can afford, where you live matters less then where you sell. And where you sell matters even less the how you sell.

This is the 21st century; we have fast travel, the Internet and a global market. Of course it is up to us to create a market for our work - not easy, but it can be done.

Far from a scientific study, but it seems to me when I look at the big names in portraiture they mostly started in a metro areas but they can be found all over the world. I see artists with studios in New York, London, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C. But of course these cities have a large market. These are major cities with huge markets for just about anything. Also areas with a larger market will more than likely also have more competition within that market. The more established you are, the less where you are matters. Clients will travel to you or pay for you to go to where they are. Also if you are an artist that sells gallery work as well as being a portrait painter, you can live anywhere. Your paintings can go all over the world, once you establish a market for it. "Think globally, act locally," they say, but I feel as an artist you must think and act globally.

Let's forget for a moment that the product is art, and look at this as a business. First you need a product with a market. You need to do R and D for this product, and then produce this product. R and D for us is all those hours at an easel and the many failed paintings we do over the years, but once we have done that and have mastered our craft, we have our product.

OK, we have established a product and we know it is a product people will buy. Now, how do we get others to buy our product instead of a competing product? Well, there are as many answers to this as there are people, but I feel we actually have an advantage over other products in many ways. Why? Well, there are two types of products: ones people buy because they need them, the others because they want them. Those who need products want to buy at the lowest price, and care little who they buy it from as long as the product is good, and, key word: PRACTICAL. Little or no emotion involved here.

Now we produce a product no one needs on a practical level. So we are selling a product that is bought for emotional reasons. And that is great. Why? Well if you look at this as a businessperson, there are many advantages to selling to persons' emotions. One, people will often pay ungodly amounts for things that move them emotionally, but rarely on practical things. And marketing to emotions is the easiest way to differentiate your product from another. And we have a product that is bought completely on an emotional level.

When advertising a product, businesses spend millions of dollars to try to make you forget all the practical reasons for buying their products, and get you to buy on an emotional level. Just look at the bottled water business. Now here are a bunch of people selling a very real need - we all need water - but they don't sell us on that fact. After all we can get water out of a tap or from our own well much cheaper. No, they sell us on a emotional level that their water is cleaner, colder, fresher then not just our tap water but then any of their competitors' water. Their product, water, emotionally says little, so all the emotional response is to it is marketing. And that marketing must make you forget all the practical reasons you need water, or at least get you past them.

Now we have a product that can, by itself, evoke an emotional response. It differentiates itself from all similar products. We have an advantage in that no two pieces of art or two artists are the same. And each person's emotional response to your art will be different.

All you need do is get that product of yours in front of as many eyes as you can. And it makes no matter where you live. You goal should be to sell to the global market.

How to create a market for our art? Well, that is a topic that would take much more than this post, which is getting too long already to answer.

In closing, the best place to live is where you are if you are comfortable there. You may need to sell elsewhere, but that just means you need to market yourself there - not move there.

Thanks, Michael, for some really interesting insights. Especially the part about the emotional sell!