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Originally Posted by Geary Wootten
Forgive my rant if this is not the ideal spot for this kind of venting.
-Gear
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Rant away! I'm with you!
Garth,
The way I've been handling auctions lately is to auction off a two hour head and shoulders charcoal portrait sitting from life in my studio. I'm very specific about the "studio","two hour" and the "from life" part. This works for me because I really like working from life and I get a victim for whom I don't have to pay an hourly fee. I don't have to travel, do a photo shoot or torture myself with composition questions. I love getting to know people this way - I have had some amazing conversations.
I've discovered there's a world of difference between a hired professional artist model and a "real person"; that is, real people usually don't sit as well. This is especially true if the victim is a child.(Some artists use television as a distraction but I'm resisting this.)
The best case scenario is that people show up in my studio, see the oils hanging around, say to themselves "Hmmm... why not an oil painting?" In this case I give them a discount toward the price of an oil portrait instead of doing the charcoal portrait, although, come to think of it, I always try to do a charcoal head from life during a commission anyway.
The worst case scenario is that people don't bother to collect on the certificate, which can also happen.
By the way, I'm in contact with a lot of people who run local charities and I'm always amazed that NOBODY is aware of these horrendous tax laws which affect artists so adversely.