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I rent studio space in the retail district of a small town. Consquently during certain hours, people are strolling in and out of my studio and often stop to watch me paint. The more you paint in public the easier it becomes, and if a little conversation occurs it is actually easier because I don't feel so "on stage". However, if the people are silent and stand there and just stare sometimes it can be intimidating. When that happens, I switch to something "boring to watch" and usually the people move on after a couple of minutes of me pushing paint in the background. As soon as they are gone I switch back to what I was painting and what would probably be more interesting to them had they not left.
More often than not though, most people are not intimidating and when they are watching a portrait be created it actually becomes an opportunity for me to suggest that they consider having a portrait painted. My brochures are right there and they usually take one and sometimes I hear from them a month or so later when they come back to talk about having a portrait painted. So painting in public has been a great marketing tool for me.
Mary
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