Emma has been drawing and painting since childhood. It was a big challenge for her to turn her passion for painting into a career. The inspiration she had for a Christmas present turned into a full time livelihood through her site popartistry.com

Andy Warhol, Jackie Kennedy

How did you come about this idea?
Well, firstly it's not a new idea by any means. Almost everyone would have seen Andy Warhol's portrait of Marilyn Monroe or Jackie Kennedy. Over the years I've seen photos of movie stars or other celebrities in their homes and quite often they would have a print of themselves in this "pop art" style on the wall. I must have taken notice as one day, trying to think of what I could give my sister for Christmas, I thought of one of these painting.. I knew it would be a complete surprise.  

 

Kit,1 year old. Acrylic 24" x 20"

Is that how your online business started?
Yes, everyone who saw the painting loved it. I wasn't surprised that they liked it, but I did get a bit of a surprise everyone wanted to place orders of their own! I thought then that I should get myself online with a web site and see what happens.

Strong lighting looks like a key element in your work. How important is this to a successful Pop art painting?
I work from photographs sent to me by the clients.. Definitely ones with light and shadows work best. It gives the face a lot of interesting shapes that I can use, giving depth and contour to the subject.

How do you develop the painting after receiving an order?
Normally I contact the client to have a chat (via email) about any color combination ideas that they prefer or where it will be displayed. This can give me a guideline as to what type of color combination I might use.

I then do a mock up of the painting with color combinations, which gives the client a chance to ask for changes. This way once I start painting we both know exactly how the finished painting will look.

What colors do you find yourself using most?
Pop art is well known for it's use of strong primary colors. Children's paintings lend themselves to these colors well and look bright and fun.

I also use more muted tones which tend to work better with peoples homes and their interior decor. Sometimes I have a base color (a piece of fabric or favorite color) that I am sent as a guideline to work from.

How do you keep yourself motivated to paint?
I have found the response from clients very rewarding.. their enthusiasm definitely keeps me going, and of course having a steady income is also motivating in itself. It does allow me to pursue other painting projects which I enjoy as I feel more free to experiment.

     Tristian, Acrylic 15" x 20"   

Today's artist need to be internet savvy. Tell us how you got "online" with your site popartistry.com?
These days regardless whether you sell online via your site or just have a few pages showing your paintings with a short bio, I think it is important to have an online presence. It lets people view your work, get to know you and keep an eye on what you are doing.

Fortunately I had a friend who said he would design me a site and host the site on his server. I think these things can really be a bit daunting for some of us. There are lots of really helpful sites out there for artists that let you join and will post (display) your work with contact details and perhaps a small bio about what you have been doing. This way you can start online easily without much effort or cost.

How much of your time is spent painting to supply the orders from your site and how much time do you get to pursue your other projects?
Well, that varies from month to month.. some are busier than others. I do like to have a break every few days.. at least once a week, to just do something totally different. That might be pastels or watercolor. Any project I am working on at the time. I think there has to be a balance between painting for a living and painting as something you love..

You travel a lot, how do you manage to paint continuously ?
I do spend quite a bit of time during the year traveling. I spend time in Asia, New Zealand.. visiting my sister in LA and friends in London and France. I do this each year as kind of a "circuit" and it is always for a month here or 6 weeks there, so I have a stock of painting supplies in each location which makes continuing to work easy. I am really lucky I can travel, although I do pay a price in that we have no pets! ..which I really miss.
In general painting is one of the few careers that you can literally be "any where in the world" and it doesn't affect your clients (private or galleries) and now with email and being online you deal with a more international client base anyway.

What would you like to do in the future with your art?
I am developing a few project ideas and would like to see how I can turn them into reality. I want to be able to continue to paint and travel so I am thinking about which project subject will allow me to do both. Perhaps some sort of painting travel book as I do "get about a bit!"

To see more of Emma's work visit her web site at www.popartistry.com