The Report
Artist interviews
I spoke with local artist Jan Whitton at her 'Celebrating Colourful Cotswold Verges' at The Gardens Gallery in Montpellier. Speaking to a working artist and at an exhibition of theirs was very useful for me in my research as to what it is like working as a professional artist. She was able to give me an insight as to what it may be like working as a full-time artist. From my talk with her I learned that the exhibition space she was displaying her current pieces in was booked two years in advance prior to when it was put up. This was for two reasons, the first being because spaces to display work get booked up months, years in advance and secondly to allow herself time to work and create a catalog of artwork for the exhibit. Speaking with Jan about holding an exhibition she informed me that she enjoys creating pieces towards exhibits because she has creative freedom over the work she produces. When asked about working to commission she does do commissioned pieces but much prefers not working to a brief. From my talk with Jan Whitton I got the feeling that whilst a career as a full-time artist is what she wanted to do and enjoys doing it isn't always the most steady and reliable source of income which is why some do it part-time alongside another career choice.
Promotion and copyright
As an artist/illustrator something to consider is the promotion and copyrighting of your work. From my artists Q&A I learned that the promotion of your work is something that needs advanced planning - getting an exhibition space can take months, more often that not years in advance booking which then creates to a lengthy build up to the event. Methods for promoting an event include posters/flyering, word of mouth, emails, newspaper advertisements. Having copyrights to your work depends on how you produced it. If your work was created for Work for Hire then this could mean that the rights of your work is someone elses, this includes reproductions and original artwork. Exclusivity to a company allows you to keep the copyright of your artwork and it means you are licensing the use of it, however if you sell the copyrights you can earn more money but have no control over what or how it is used. Not owning the copyrights to your artwork may make you more money but it also means that you don't have control over it and how it is then used.
Commissions and projects
I have worked on some commissioned pieces of my own which has helped me get an understanding of what it is to be working as an artist as part of my professional practice. The pieces I had been commissioned to create were fine art orientated and were oil paintings but still proved a useful exercise to get some experience working for commission in order to prepare myself for future illustration commissions I may do. I personally at this current time don't find working on commissioned pieces too demoralizing as I don't have time nor the desire to paint for leisure so find working on a piece for a client quite exciting.
The first piece I was commissioned to paint was for a local veterinary nurse back in my hometown. She asked me to paint a portrait of her German Shepherd and asked that I worked in oil paints. I had some previous experience in animal portraits from my studies of Fine Art and Illustration at A-level where I did a series of animal paintings. These were the paintings that she saw in an exhibition and got in contact with me afterwards to paint her own dog. I had previously painting oils on board as I had access to boards within my school but as I was working from my home and not my old studio I chose to paint oil on canvas as a cost efficient decision. We discussed the painting itself prior to me starting and exchanged several photos of her dog to work from, I was given the artistic decision to pick which photograph worked best for me to paint. It was also decided that I left the background simple and put the focus on the dog. I found no difficulties painting this piece, it was only afterwards that we encountered problems. The canvas itself proved difficult to get framed and costly (expenses not paid by me) but what I had initially thought was keeping costs down by painting on canvas later led to further expenses getting the canvas framed. I was oblivious to my client wishing to frame the piece so was unaware of this additional cost and that would be something I have learned from and will consider in future commissions to ask. I was paid the sum of £100 for this piece and no additional costs that were needed for framing were taken out of my commission.
The second commission I painted was for the veterinary nurses mother who enjoyed her daughters painting so much she wanted to have one of her own dog. Learning from my previous experience I asked if the client wished to have the painting framed which she did so this time I painted on a board that would be cheaper to frame than canvas. Again the commission took form in an oil painting portrait of a dog, this time a black Labrador. Unlike the previous painting my client wished to have her dog incorporated in it's background setting which meant more work for me as I was painting both her dog and the landscape which was a field of bluebells. This would be something to consider as with more work it may change pricing, but I had agreed to do the piece for the same sum of £100 as I had for her daughter and stuck to my word. I encountered no problems working on this piece and was given freedom on size and content, with several photos to work from as reference and only the inclusion of bluebells into the background to work in as their only request.
Another project I had been planning and working for my professional practice was painting a mural at Park campus for the university's media, radio and music department. Whilst the project itself remains uncompleted it was a good learning curve for working in the industry. Our brief was relatively open, we were given a blank canvas (wall) to paint on and the theme was linked to the department with full freedom to explore our own ideas under this theme. However, working in a group of 10 others on this project there was conflicting ideas and decisions which made the process more difficult to get started trying to settle on a unanimous design. As well as conflicting ideas amongst the group we were also sending back and fourth our ideas to the head of department in charge of getting the mural painted who also had their own vision. I can use the planning of this project as a learning point for working in groups on commissions/projects, whilst the numbers would help with getting the bulk of the word done nailing down a final idea that everyone agrees on slowed down the initial process. Another difficulty we faced was working to a short deadline. The project was to be completed for an forthcoming university Open Day so we had a short time to plan and paint it which with conflicting social hours to do this is was difficult as we had to paint it out of university hours when the corridor would be empty and fit this in around other projects we had on. Whilst this project was never completed it was a useful exercise to get experience working to a brief, in a group and to a deadline.
Overall doing this has been a good exercise and helped me get an understanding of the industry, working in it and what it is to have a professional practice. Things such as working on commission, booking exhibition spaces, working to a clients needs and problems you may face through this was a useful learning exercise in preparation for a potential career in the industry.