An honest assessment

[Michele Rushworth]

I spend a minimum of 20 hrs per week actually painting or drawing and I don't know how much time on top of that researching and trying to learn more. I don't think I could stop if I wanted to.

As far as time spent researching, I have a suggestion: If you have the time or inclination, and it sounds like you do, I highly recommend spending an hour or two a day for the next few months studying all the past threads in this forum. All the critiques, all the materials and techniques sections, all the marketing posts, and especially all the threads on how to photograph people to get good reference photos.

Without a doubt, this forum got me to where I am now in my portraiture career.

[Lacey Lewis]

I think I already spend an hour or two per day reading through the forum or going through links I find on the forum. The rest of the time I am looking through library books. I get books on the masters and books on technique, though I think I've gone through all the books on technique that are of any value (picked up Chris Saper's book a few times!) that are in the library's collection. Now I am looking at the books reccomended here and there on the forum and looking for books and videos by my favorite living artists and am going to start buying. (Will take reccomendations, as well!) Hopefully in the near-ish future I will be able to travel for workshops, too.

I am very glad that I chose to dedicate myself to what I love, even though it takes sacrafice financially.

[Anthony Emmolo]

Hello Lacey,

I think your work shows great possibility. Good luck. As to your web site, I believe some of the links that you provide hurt your reputation as a serious professional. Although he is your uncle, I'd take out the link to your uncle's rock band for two reasons:

1- It isn't related to your art in any way that I can see, although I may be wrong.

2- Too many "F" words. The anger expressed in the web page is completely not in agreement with the rest of your artwork. I believe it also makes you look less professional.

Good luck,
Anthony

[Lacey Lewis]

Thanks, Anthony!

Yes, I agree about the links and such. When I started the web site, I was mostly using it for friends and family. I moved to Kansas from Upstate NY and was trying to keep them up on what I was doing. I am asking for this assessment because I feel ready to begin the transformation into the professional world, but needed the outside opinions first.

It may take a while, but I'll post a link here after the metamorphosis!

[Anthony Emmolo]

Good luck Lacey,
You'll do well.
Anthony

[Lacey Lewis]

Hi again!

I am in the middle of creating a new website just for my portraits and figurative work and am looking forward to my new, serious, professional style.

I thought that I would continue in this thread with further questions about the price list, although if need be it can be moved to a new thread. I am trying to figure out a reasonable price difference between mediums, sizes, and amount of the subject included. I want to use that $1,000 as the base price for a head in shoulders in oil, as sugested. But I want to make sure that my increments for including more of the subject aren't too wide or too narrow. I'd rather price on the amount of subject included as opposed to canvas size. Here's a wild guess for oils:

Head and shoulders: 11 x 14 to 16 x 20: starting at $1,000
Half Length with Hands: 20 x 24 to 24 x 30: starting at $2,000
Full Length: starting at $3,000

I don't know if doubling the price for moving up to a half length is reasonable or not. Input please?

As for pastels, should I price them at about 1/2 of the oils, or closer to 3/4 of oils? I've seen a variety of ranges when I've looked around others' sites. What about pencils, charcoals, or other monochromes? I want them to be affordable, but I don't want to price them so low that they seem worthless. Maybe $150-200 for an 8x10 to 11x14?

Any advice or opinions appreciated.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Hi Lacey,

I've really enjoyed seeing your works in progress--and finished works--on the forum, most recently your fascinating self-portrait. I just checked out your website and I think it is very well-designed and it showcases your work very well! Michele's advice on how to improve it was right-on!

I agree about the prices for oils. $1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 sound reasonable to me. I'm not sure about the graphite and pastel work because I don't sell any myself. $100 might be a little low for a pastel but I'm not sure. It seems to me that a lot of people would want your work and will commission you.

I keep thinking about what an art consultant told me about 10 years ago. She said, "You really should raise your prices for your portraits. If you keep them too low, you are not only undercutting your own business, you are undercutting other portrait painters' business." That really stuck in my head: the idea that I could actually not only hurt myself (by not valuing my work enough) but hurting others, both by taking business away from them, unintentionally of course, because of my lack of awareness of the market; and by lowering the bar on how much people expect to pay for a certain level of work.

Off to a great start!

Alex