Administrator's Note: This thread was split off from http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...&threadid=1007
Linda asks what thoughts I have on the difference between a "portrait" and a "figurative" painting. How would one go about producing paintings of people that "strangers" would want to hang on their wall?
First, figure paintings are well down the priority list of gallery buyers, who much prefer landscapes and still lifes. When they do buy paintings of people, they go for narrative paintings first. Nudes are popular as are ethnic types. At the very bottom of the list are images of white men in suits. If you have a rejected portrait of a corporate board chairman laying about your studio, don't count on selling it in a gallery.
However, my gallery just sold what amounts to a portrait by any definition. Here it is.