A couple people have asked me how all the free 140 minute twitter portraits I’m doing fit into my business as a working artist. Or, rather “Who’s going to commission you when they can just enter the contest and win a portrait for free?“
It’s a good question and I thought it deserved a little discussion. Here’s a few differences between my free twitter portraits and my commissioned work.
A Study In Contrast
My free, 140 minute twitter portraits started as an experimental painting challenge I created for myself in April. They are technically frenetic painting “studies” I do once a month. Since there isn’t much time to focus on little details in two hours and 20 minutes, the challenge is to get the gist of the dog down quickly. Commissioned portraits, on the other hand, take about 25-40 hours to complete from start to finish. That enables me to record every whisker, paw pad, and eyebrow that make your dog unique. The more time I have to paint, the more detail in your portrait.
The Fast and the Furious
Only very specific photos allow me to work fast enough to actually complete a 140 minute twitter portrait. It’s tough to explain why which ones work, but I know in about 0.5 seconds when I see them. That’s why I–quite subjectively–choose the winning shot for the 140 minute portraits: it can’t work as a lottery. Lulabelle was the winner of the last free twitter portrait give away because her photo had that “fast” factor.
(I’ve Run Out of Clever Subheadings)
I work very closely with my clients during the traditional commission process. We decide together what the best possible scenario is for their portrait. Will it be huge to fit on that entry wall, or will it be small and square, with a yellow background to work in your home office? Do you like this pose, or that pose? It’s all open to discussion. My free twitter portrait winners, however, don’t have any input regarding the size, format, background color, etc. (But I hope they’re happy enough wining one to forgive me for this.)
Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner
Although the odds of are still pretty good, you actually have to win the free twitter portrait contest to have your dog painted. Commissions are welcome any time…
-Aimée
One day, I will commission you for individual portraits of each member of our family–that’s TWELVE ANIMALS. And then, I’ll commission you to do all of my parents’ dogs, from past to present. It will be awesome.
Yes it will! : )
[...] have to say these twitter “studies” are going better than I anticipated and I am really looking forward to incorporating more of this [...]