Portrait Artist Forum

Hello, I am a 27 year old portrait artist from Portland, OR. I graduated from Western Oregon University last year and have since been trying to make that leap from a student to a professional artist. I have not tried to make it as a traditional portrait artist (ie, submitting to galleries, competing with other artists.) I've been working on a series of portraits of professional mixed martial artists in a variety of styles and media, trying to find what suits me best.

As such my target audience has become almost specifically professional fighters and fans. I've sold a number of paintings ranging to portraits of fighters, loved ones, and pets, but have stayed almost exclusively within the Mixed Martial Arts community.

I discovered this website a couple months ago and found a wealth of wonderful knowledge here. Many of the questions I've had for some time have been answered here and it's a terrific resource specific to portrait artists (as opposed to artists in general.)

I look forward to learning more, meeting fellow artists, and finding ways to improve all aspects of my art (from the techniques and process to business and advertising.)