Down time after completing a portrait

Julianne Lowman · 01-16-2003, 10:31 AM

I have never been busier as a portrait artist! I'm absolutely thrilled with the amount of work I have before me, but I wonder, how soon after completing one portrait do you begin another. I'm finding an exhillaration as a painting approaches completion, then sudden exhaustion when it's been delivered. Is this normal? It takes me a few days to get my bearings again, then I begin anew. I'd love to hear other thoughts regarding this subject.

Leslie Ficcaglia · 01-16-2003, 12:21 PM

Julianne, I finished two portrait commissions for Christmas gifts and haven't been back in the studio since then. I have a commission pending but don't have the photos yet, and I'm glad to be taking a break. At other times I go right from one to another but if you're finding that the pressure of work is getting to you, you should definitely allow yourself some downtime. This is a great profession but to do your best it should be fun and exciting to embark on that next painting. Go to a museum or look at your library of art books or do something else to refresh your spirit!

Another thought: if you're that busy, it may be time to think about raising your prices!

Enzie Shahmiri · 01-17-2003, 09:09 PM

Julianne,

I believe what you are experiencing is quite normal. Some people, when under pressure seem to run on adreneline. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night or at 6 a.m. with the thought of a project running through my mind. If a person can get so involved that their mind still processes the events of the day during sleep, it is only normal to feel exhausted once the pressure is off.

Leslie's suggestions are wonderful and should help you to rejuvenate yourself. Having more than one project going at all times seems to help avoiding that drained feeling in between commissions. It does little for the dream state though! Now a trip to Tahiti - that I would call the optimum cure for exhaustion!

Linda Ciallelo · 01-25-2003, 09:03 PM

I too have noticed a biorhythm type thing going on with my painting productivity. I will have times when I am very full of energy and productive, as you described, even waking in the middle of the night thinking about the project. Then there are other times when I have absolutely no interest at all.

I know that it's a pendulum thing. So I just wait until my mood swings the other way. I usually try to accomplish average little tasks while waiting for the high energy needed for the important stuff. Personal problems, life's little tradgedies (and big ones), can distract me badly and keep me from working.

Michele Rushworth · 01-26-2003, 11:46 AM

I once read that Nelson Shanks spends twelve hours a day, virtually every day, in the studio. (I imagine he has a wife to take care of the mundane things that seem to keep me out of the studio so much. There's a whole other thread on that issue!)

I'm sure he doesn't spend all that time actually putting paint on canvas but I think time spent looking at art books, doing sketches and the like, all count as "painting" time, and help to move one's work forward.

Like many artists, I need to mentally shift gears once a painting is finished. I always have three or four paintings in progress at one time, though, so I don't lose much time.

I read somewhere else that "inspiration is for amateurs" and that those who view this as a serious career work whether they feel like it or not. Fortunately, I always feel like painting! Sometimes I don't have the energy I'd like to have for painting, though. I'm trying to do a lot more exercise to overcome that problem.

I also find that when I think I don't have any energy for painting I start to work on something low stress (not a commission) and find that it's midnight before I know it!

Linda Ciallelo · 01-26-2003, 06:35 PM

When I retire in April, I plan on being very disciplined about my hours in the studio. It's like anyone who is self employed, you really need to be working on "something" for a good part of the day, if you expect to make any money. But there are many things that are relevant to selling paintings that are NOT actually painting.Those are the things that I will do during my down time. That's the plan anyway.