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A better term
I have been a "street artist" for 33 years. However, I don't like the term. Even though I have always paid rent for my space, I am called a "street artist," as if I were a vagabond or a pan handler of art.
I started at the Saturday Market for a few weekends to get the feel. Then I went on a vacation to Sacramento, and asked a local mall if I could draw there a few days. There were no leases for kiosks then, so we had to improvise an agreement. After a couple of months, they canceled my rent and let me draw for free. There two years. I did well, and I was earning more than I did as a laborer doing what I love. I find drawing from life much more pleasant and energizing then painting. Painting is work. Drawing is fun. I can draw all day and not be tired. I can only paint a few hours and I am spent.
I was very professional, had a very nice setup with very nice signage. Then I set up at a Public Market in Eugene. Five years. Then a mall. 23 years. Now at another mall - 2 years. I now have an in-line store with a full service frame shop and art gallery where I display my oils and watercolors.
I feel that drawing is my best work. In my community, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would pay for a high end oil portrait, even if they could afford it. Trying to be a high priced painter is a bit of a long shot for most artists. But you can make a living at drawing and still enjoy using your talents.
I do not do caricatures. I can charge more for portraits.
It does work better if you are in a tourist city. However, in cities where there are tourists, you will find that your costs are much higher, and your style of living cramped by traffic and costs. So, I am contented to draw and paint here in Eugene-Springfield area of Oregon.
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