[Julianne Lowman]

I have just completed my first full "official" year as a professional portrait artist. It has been a whirlwind year, full of frustrations, joys, surprises, successes and just a few failures, which then turned into surprise successes as well. I count myself VERY fortunate indeed.

I have learned a great deal! I have a great deal more to learn!

My artistic skills have improved dramatically as have my marketing skills.

I often wonder if other artists look at a very good piece they have just completed and say to themselves, as I do to myself, "How did I do that? It's fabulous!", then, on the very next painting say, "How did I do that? It's awful!"?

I don't charge a great deal for my portraits. That doesn't matter to me as much as the quality of product I am delivering and that I feel good about the work I've completed. I figure, since I have very little formal training, these poor saps are paying me to practice on them! I have raised my prices again (after one year) and will continue to do so at the begining of each year until I am comfortable that the quality is consistently good.

I have successes that I don't understand why they are successes, and failures that I don't understand why they are failures. With the latter, I simply tear up the paper (pastels) and start again. That technique works every time, but I'll still not fully understand why it works. It seems like a magical miracle when it all comes together.

It's that miracle I seek with each new commission.

So, Happy Anniversary to me, and to all of you Have a happy and prosperous 2004!