Sourcing of the dream career

[Ngaire Winwood]

With the profound abillities of members on this forum, the encouragement and mentoring is exceptional and second to none. We all had to start somewhere and it intrigues me how members got their break or got started.

Which brings me to these questions:

1. What was your own personal drive words or methods you needed or used, to get you where you are today?

2. How did you source your career in the beginning?

3. When did your Art career take off?

4. Art materials and frames are expensive and if you started with limited cash, what avenues did you pursuit to help out in this area.

5. What were your first sales, what subjects, what medium?

6. Ultimately, what or who was it that gave you your artistic break to allow you to pursuit your career full time?

7. Who was your mentor then and now?

I have read different threads on some of these subjects but I thought more recent views would be interesting.

[Ngaire Winwood]

These weren't supposed to be personal questions just generalised so that a beginner portrait artist like me and others, can get the feel of the normal road one takes to perfection or at least of that unique moment you are happy with your skills.

[Ngaire Winwood]

From advice I have received, I will shorten these:

1. What is the best way to source your career if you have no job?

2. Did you get that lucky break - what or who was it that gave you your artistic break to allow you to pursuit your career full time.

3. Is there a stage when you don't need a mentor after a certain level achieved?

[Michele Rushworth]

1. I'm not sure what you mean by "source your career".

2. I guess my luckiest break was coming across this website and learning about the field of portraiture.

3. I think a mentor is helpful at any stage of one's artistic development, though I've never had one!

[Ngaire Winwood]

Michelle, I probably should have used the words fund/finance as well as tuition/resources/skill development used instead of using the word source, sorry.

Thanks for replying. I am curious as to the progression of the road in which a beginner travels from start to full time pro? What lays ahead for beginners.

[Morris Darby]

I dabbled with art during my music career of 30 years. I've always been fascinated with drawing faces, however, never could. Tired of the music scene, I bought a few portrait books to study it as a hobby and started drawing with no one really knowing I was THAT interested.

I knew it would take discipline, so I drew nothing but eyes for one year...in every position...of every race. Then, moved to noses for the next year. I discovered an old friend of mine was having life drawing sessions at his house and I joined. The next year in my personal sketch book I continued my discipline and drew mouths. The following year I saw the crosshatch drawings of Rembrandt. In awe, I drew straight lines freehand for a year. First, across the page, then diagnal, then down the page.....straight lines freehand, until I got them right, all year long.

This, along with doing quick sketches in restaurants on napkins, I came across a lady who had only one B/W photo of her as a teenager and asked if I would do a color portrait of it. I had my eye on a portrait set of pastels that were $70. So, I charged her $70 for a 22x30 pastel of that photo and bought my pastel set.

That was six years ago. I still work a FT job, but produce my portraits on nights and weekends. I have a string of good priced jobs and one really nice high priced job. I hope to eventually make a full time effort of painting.......portraits for now....other paintings? I've got a lot to explore.

[Ngaire Winwood]

Morris, that is a very disciplined approach. Did you find your body parts mostly from books or life?

[Heidi Maiers]

Hi Ngaire,
I think these questions have drawn a slow response mostly due to the fact that the vast majority of us (even if we have been doing this our entire lives) feel that not only have we yet to arrive, but that we've only just begun. About half or more I would say are not yet able to do this full time and many that can are struggling and are still waiting for their career to take off. What "taking off" means to one person, can mean something entirely different to another.

From my own perspective, I feel I am just beginning and have funded my art by working a full time job on the side. I don't think I've had a mentor - not all together even sure what that is - but I have taken three workshops in the last several years and those instructor's skill and insight was very inspiring to say the least (Eugene Daub, John Coleman, and Tuck Langland).

Good questions though, and maybe some here who feel they really have reached their goals will share some of their secrets to success (other than raw talent, hard work, and perserverence). I think some of your questions deal with which outside influences were important in shaping that path to success.

[Ngaire Winwood]

Originally Posted by Heidi Maiers

Hi Ngaire,
..... and maybe some here who feel they really have reached their goals will share some of their secrets to success (other than raw talent, hard work, and perserverence). I think some of your questions deal with which outside influences were important in shaping that path to success.

Heidi, you put it nicely, thanks.

Interesting, that I have never seen a portrait artist working live - up until yesterday when, low and behold, I went to our little shopping centre and there was a man set up with an aluminium easel/frame outfit, painting portraits from photos that were placed behind a magnifiying light. The big sign says "Portraits in Oils for $70 on plain background, $12 extra for detailed background" B&W sketches $30.
The sign also said that he could take a photo for $6. That is for an Oil painting 16 x 20 in size.

So naturally I positioned myself and stayed for two hours watching him. I had no seat but I crouched and stood at varying times, asking questions that he was most reluctant to answer. I grabbed a business card and it said Pub and Portrait Artist.

Apparently he is from Western Australia on the East Coast (thousands of miles away) and travels constantly like a gypsie for nearly 12 months of the year. He stays in mostly bigger towns/cities for three weeks at each venue. The remarkable thing other than what he charges is that he does a completed 16 x 20 oil, shoulder/head in two hours. I have never seen anyone work that fast. He said his drawings take about 30 minutes.

Although I am a beginner I saw what I thought was a lot of no-no's, like when he takes a photo he uses a flash, his turps tin was thick with paint residue next to a dirty well used rag and his biggest brush was a size 6 flat looked like a watercolour sable. I suppose they aren't no-no's for him anyway, but he has no reason to use archival quality he is only after a quick sale and leave town. He had a suitcase with slits to hold the wet oils until the owners came and picked them up. He just takes the money and gives them the wet oil painting, the clients percariously hold their hands underneath of it and balancing it all the way to their car. People were cueing up for them, he only came here this week and his three weeks are 90% booked up already. He sketches from photos at night when he leaves at 4.30pm back in his bus. He said they were many dog/human portraits (doubles)booked as well as normal couples(husbands and wives etc).

I thought to myself, that the public will think this is how it is done normally and if I come in later with different prices, they may feel they are being ripped off. He made no suggestions to getting it framed, sealed or any caring instructions. I will strive to get the upper market I think.

He worked like a colouring in book approach, he did have a well executed drawing to work from before placing darks in shapes and lines and then blended the mid tones up till the highlights and moved from left to right, starting with the pupils, eye socket, nose, mouth, forehead, chin, hair line, hat and came back to the skin flesh after this adding the highlights as well. When he was just about finished with the background, he came back and touched up the highlights and voila! An 16 x 20 oil in two hours. He mostly used 0, 1, 3, brushes and hat mass and skin mass with the 5, 6 brush. The likeness was about 80%

I am not sure that I gained any valuable information although to make money, you meet the masses by bringing the prices down and working extremely fast. I am not sure that is the way to go though.

I came away with a lot of unanswered questions and bewilderment. So close but yet so far.