[Brenda Ellis]

Hi.
I'm new to the forum, but just wanted to say thank you to Mike for starting this thread. This is something I've been wondering about for myself, lately.
I had decided to pursue pastels because I thought that they would be easier with my strength being in drawing and not color. However, the advice I received recently was if I wanted to make any money as a portraitist I should pursue oils. Being a rebel, I disregarded this advice. And the very next week, was asked to do an oil portrait. I'm finding oils to be easier for me. Probably because they are more forgiving and you can mix on the palette instead of clogging the paper trying to get the right color.
However, I'm not one to give up and I want to be proficient at both pastels and oils.
My question is (and this is probably a broader question), do we artists have the responsibility to advocate for pastels as a medium equal to oils in value or should we leave influencing the market to the patrons?
I don't have an answer or an opinion on this question, I'm just wondering what more experienced professional artists think.
Thank you, and I promise not to post any more until I've finished reading the rest of the forum.