September 11

Stanka Kordic · 09-23-2001, 06:12 PM

I hesitate in bringing this topic up in light of the recent tragedy... Does anyone feel a little nervous about the future of our business? I have lost a large commission this week due to my client's uneasiness about spending money on a "luxury". Although a part of me understands, a bigger part of me feels that now, more than ever, we need art to uplift and remind us of what is still good. Not to mention that we need to fuel the economy and, yes, our own checkbooks

Any thoughts??

Carole Chalmers · 10-07-2001, 02:09 PM

Stanka, I share your concern. My thoughts these last few weeks are similar to yours. I also lost a large commission right after September 11. I think we are all still in shock. We may need to tighten our belts a bit but it seems we are in good company.

It may be a time to consider our portrait images and what they convey of our times.

Chris Saper · 10-07-2001, 10:56 PM

Yes, it has been an emotionally and spiritually exhausting month. Yes, I have been concerned, and remain so about all of us who are providing products at the high end of Maslow's hierarchy.

But I also feel so deeply on a personal level that we must all order our priorities, and that is an important and liberating act. I do feel that many of my potential clients will postpone commitments. Many may not choose to undertake them at all. This is as important for them as it for each of us.

A couple of weeks ago I met with the marketing director at a local Barnes & Noble Store, whose outlook changed what was, for me, turning into a deep despondency. He only wanted to discuss what portaiture meant to the painter, to the client, and to the very core of what separates a gracious and civilized society from one that is not. He was interested in the nature of beauty, the forces that make one interested in commissioning a portrait...love, respect, honor, and the faith that there will be someone beyond us who cares.

So yes, I think that many of us must be resourceful about how we will replace lost or postponed revenues, be it teaching, writing, trading, or simply knuckling down to a day job. Regardless, I believe that the main thing is to keep painting. Keep finding beauty around you, an aesthetic glass that is always half-full. Take advantage of times where there may be fewer commissions by becoming better at our craft.

Separate and unknown events are beyond each of us to individually control. Commitment and faith, in whatever form, are available to each of us, at any time. We have large issues at hand.The best we can do is to rise to them, as best we can.

I wish you, and all of us, well.
Chris

Michele Rushworth · 12-15-2001, 12:11 AM

Have folks on this forum seen a major downturn in business in the last three months, and if so, are things improving lately?

On the other hand I was wondering, as was mentioned earlier in this thread, whether clients feel that "we need art to uplift and remind us of what is still good."

Perhaps clients feel a need to express the more powerful feelings we all seem to have developed for our families lately, and if commissioning a portrait of a loved one might be a way to do that. What's been the trend overall since Sept 11?

Thanks!

Darla Dixon · 12-15-2001, 02:08 PM

For me, I've actually had an upswing in business, which I think is due to several factors.

I do realistic pencil portraits though, so my price range is more affordable for many people.

I think people see my artwork as a more traditional gift idea, and something that will last, so it's a good investment.

I also created an artwork of an eagle ON September 11th, while I listened to CBS News reports. I had the artwork reproduced by Colson Fine Art printers, sold limited edition S/N prints of the Memorial Eagle, and raffled off the original artwork, with all proceeds from the print run and the raffle going to the Red Cross.

The fundraiser is still struggling though, because of the cost of the print run and mailing / promotional expenses cutting into it, but I hope that long term it will bring some decent money in for the Red Cross. Doing the fundraiser got me some newspaper coverage and has helped draw attention to my art.

Cynthia Daniel · 12-15-2001, 02:21 PM

Darla,

What a great marketing idea and how generous of you to give the proceeds to the Red Cross!

Steven Sweeney · 01-20-2002, 04:50 AM

I wrote to several overseas compatriot artists (I'm the overseas one, temporarily) after Sept 11, that we'd seen a sample of the worst that mankind can do, and our only recourse was to try to paint some of the best of what mankind can imagine.

A very thoughtful man here in Taipei put some of this in perspective for me. The U.S. September events were horrific, and they changed the political world. But in Bhopal, India, 3800 people died from a chemical pollution "incident". In 1996, 25,000 people died from a meningitis outbreak. An earthquake in 2001 in Bhuj, India, killed 200,000 [did anyone read about that in the local paper? Did any wars break out?]; an earthquake in 1970 killed 66,000 in Peru; one in Mexico in 1985 killed 80,000. A hurricane in Central America in 1988 killed 12,000. Within minutes' drive from my current expatriate residence in Taipei, Taiwan, many people died in last fall's typhoons, which also required us to abandon our home for some time, in fear of landslides.

The work that we do after Sept. 11 will depict the people who lived through, survived, suffered from the incidents of that day and the times afterward, people whose memories include where they were when they heard of the New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania tragedies, attrocities.

We as artists all have the rarest of privileges, to capture the essence of our portrait subjects -- even if and as troubled by the events of the times -- as no one else can.

As artists we are challenged and blessed to be able to depict those emotions. Don't be intimidated by the challenge. Be honored.

Anne Hall · 02-18-2002, 12:56 AM

I know this response may not be particularly timely, given that it has been over 5 months since 9-11, and it has been 3 weeks since the last post to this thread. But just two nights ago I experienced one of those wonderful lucid dreams that so lightened my heart I feel emboldened to comment on this topic.

In the dream I was lost and looking for my way on a dark road leading I knew not where when I saw a warm wonderful smiling face. The dream me did not recognize the person, but the waking me knew it was my wonderful husband.

Whatever else I may have and lose in this life I hope I never lose the feeling I had when I looked on that face. This is not meant to be a love letter to my deserving spouse, but to comment on how much more meaning than ever that a portrait can have in the life of an individual, a family, a business or a group of people. Our loved ones matter; portraits remind us why and how.

Stanka Kordic · 02-18-2002, 06:37 PM

"Our loved ones matter; portraits remind us why and how."

Anne,

Thanks for sharing your thoughtful dream. You are absolutely right in your sentiment. After I settled down following my initial panic attack, my current client expressed a similiar sentiment. She owns a portrait of her great-grandfather, and told me if there was a fire (God forbid) that would be the one thing she would reach for first.

Then, of course, she would run in and grab the portraits I did for them.

Renee Brown · 02-26-2002, 02:15 PM

I just received an e-mail this am from the director of the Gallery here, where my figurative work is shown. She said sales have been down. I hear that as well from artists in competitive shows in this area.

I sold two paintings in the last month, but usually inquiries for estimates are greater than they have been lately.

I am using this time to improve and work on a body of figurative paintings for an upcoming show in September, 2002. I try to remind myself that we are all in this together. I believe the ecomony will recover, providing no further damage occurs, God willing.

Renee