Darla Dixon Talks About Staying Motivated

Today I had the honor of interviewing Darla Dixon, portrait artist and illustrator. I've known Darla for years. I've even used her services. One year, I needed an art project for a potential book cover-a book that never went to print. I purchased all rights to the artwork and it was worth every penny! While I didn't use the artwork for the proposed book cover, I have plans to use it for a line of cards to help fund The Dabbling Mum®. Not only does Darla take the time to understand what you really want, but she works with you to make sure the final outcome is exactly as you've pictured it in your head! And she has some amazing talent...

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into drawing and why you turned it into a business? What drew you to the craft? What keeps you drawing?

I have always loved to draw. I still have some highly detailed pencil drawings I did when I was only 3 years old. It is mostly natural ability, but I worked on my skills by using books. One that really helped me was Lee Hammond's book, How To Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs.

My first attempts at drawing detailed portraits of people were not that great. I drew an awful portrait of my daughter. It was really awful! But I kept working at it. After a couple more drawings, I made a fairly nice looking portrait of my niece. After that, I stayed up very late many night practicing. I still use books to help me learn techniques and to inspire me. After showing a portrait that I have drawn of my niece, someone asked me to draw a picture of his children and paid me. I realized I had found a way to make a little extra money so I could stay home with our kids. I am still thrilled that I get paid for doing this...it's true what they say, that if you do what you love, you'll never truly work a day in your life!

As an artist, you are not only speaking to new clients all the time but you are constantly creating something new. How do you keep yourself motivated and energized?

I just really love it. Because I am not just making a straight copy from a photo, but I'm striving for an artistic image that is better than the reference photo, that keeps my work from becoming stale and boring.

Sometimes the reference photos I have to work from are not really great to work with, and I have to find ways to work around the challenge - for example, if the subject of the portrait is deceased, and there are no more photos, I can't ask the client for better photos. I might have to work as a bit of a detective at times, to figure out how the portrait should be done. So in cases like that, it's not just art, it's family history involved.

Recently I did a portrait that was a re-creation of an old Shell gas station - the family only had some recent photos of the building (now worn down and with peeling paint) and that photo and the recollections of family and Internet research of how Shell gas stations generally looked in the 1950's was all I had to go with. The client was a great help, and we exchanged over 40 emails and several phone calls to get the artwork just right. I love projects that are a challenge. That project involved family history, recollections, as well as the history of gas stations. I just never know what I will learn.

I also do portraits of stillborn or miscarried babies - they are hard for many artists to do, it can be emotionally upsetting, but what keeps me going on those portraits is knowing how important and valued the portrait will be for the healing of the family. I think it's important for parents to have a keepsake of their baby.

What have you found to be the most cost-effective way to advertise your services and why?

Word of mouth has always been a big source of customers. I also tap into my client base and new clients with an email newsletter. I use the free newsletter from bravenet.com. It suits my needs right now. I try to avoid paying for services if I can find services that provide what I need and that do the job, it prevents me from having to raise my portrait prices. I offer my newsletter subscribers specials and deals that the general public doesn't get, to thank them for being on my email list.

My blog is also a good source of website traffic. I am also active in women's networking groups, both online and offline.I have been highlighted as a PayPal Shops Featured Shop about 3 times, and it brought a lot of interest to my art and website.

Visit her at: http://www.pencil-portrait-drawing-artist.com/

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