One of the questions that always comes up when writers or artists talk is whether to write for oneself and hope it will also appeal to the marketplace, or to try to guess what the marketplace will like and use that as a guide. Here's a surprising story of what happened when one artist decided to go her own way:
Young artist Erin Crowe found the face of former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan interesting, and for two years she painted a variety of portraits of him, based on photos. When she needed to raise some money before going off to graduate school, she decided to try selling some of them. Family friends owned a gallery in New York, and agreed to host a show of her Greenspan paintings.
According to The Artist's Magazine (www.artistsmagazine.com), "...no one was prepared for what happened next. CNBC did a piece on Crowe's gallery show, and it went from moderately successful to sold-out in a few short hours. Bankers, hedge fund managers and other Wall Street types lined up to buy her oil paintings of the famous financial figure."
It's nice to know that sometimes following your own path also pays off in the marketplace...even if it's weird path!
(Ps: there's lots more info about writing on my website, www.timetowrite.com)
