In this week’s Critique group we meet realist painter Jan Dale. Describing her background, Jan says,

Creativity has been a passion from earliest childhood. Though I never attended art school, I have developed a habit of seeking knowledge and artistic skill over many years via local art groups, online tutorials, and countless hours of trial and error.

I taught elementary school for several years while painting murals and oils on the side. It was always my hope to turn art into a full-time profession one day.

I made that transition in 2017 when the school district I worked for abruptly changed the curriculum and decreased pay for literacy teachers across the district. At the same time, my mural income began to rival my teaching income. So I took the leap of faith and went at it full time.

I still paint murals as my bread-and-butter income while developing skills with oil painting and marketing. I’m growing what I hope is a cohesive body of work.

I recently participated in the Professional Artist Institute, which has been a serious game-changer for me, as was my recent acceptance into the International Guild Of Realism and Oil Painters Of America.

Fueled by this newfound success, I am now researching galleries to approach over the next few months.

Watch the recording for our discussion with Jan.

You can view the schedule for upcoming sessions and participate in our Critique Group by visiting our Online Critique Page.

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Artwork Information:	Title: Perseverance (SOLD January 2022) Medium: Oil Size: 21″x27″ Price: $1560
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Artwork Information:	Title: A Well-Earned Rest Medium: Oil Size: 20″x20″ Price: $1800
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Artwork Informaiton	Title: Cool Beans (SOLD summer 2022) Medium: Oil Size: 8″x8″ Price: $320
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Title	Title: Studio In Spring (SOLD summer 2021) Medium: Oil Size: 36″x36″ Price: $3564
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Artwork Information:	Title: Balancing Act Medium: Oil Size: 20″x10″ Price: $850
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Portrait Image of Yourself	jan face.jpg
What Questions Would you Like to Have Answered About Your Art During a Review Session?	1) How diverse can the subject matter be and still read as a cohesive body of work? 2) I recently started to prefer a rigid surface as opposed to gallery-wrapped canvas. Right now this represents a little over half of my work. Should I wait to approach galleries until I have more of my work on my preferred surface? 3) This past March, I challenged myself to paint 30 miniature works in 30 days and offer them on Instagram as a way to raise funds for an artist residency scheduled for this summer. I sold more of them than I expected. It attracted a wider audience and sparked a new series of very small works. So….. How might a gallery feel if I reserved that new section of my art for my subscribers and offered the gallery only the works over a certain size/price range? 4) As I researched other artists’ pricing practices, They were all over the map. I settled on a method and structure that seems to work. However, my profit margin may shrink significantly with the addition of gallery commissions and shipping. How can I keep myself, my gallery, and my private collectors all happy?