Oil Portrait Irene Hess 2010 Art By Lisabelle

I was commissioned by the University of Michigan, Institute of Social Research and this is how it happened. I was doing some SEO work of my own for my own website Art By Lisabelle www.lisabelle-artist.com. Years before, I began my website in 1997, while living in a small rural town in Michigan, married and raising our two Sons on a beautiful lakefront property, which was destroyed by fire in May 2008 along with many artworks. From 1991 - 97 I was a member of the local art group. We had one wonderful venue for exhibiting ours and other professional artists' artworks, it was the summer time bi-annual event, the town hosts Michigan International Speedway, that brings millions of fans to this tiny town of under 10k to the area for a couple of weekends, each and every summer. NASCAR and INDY. During my involvement with the group, and the press coverage, I personally received, I became an overnight known portraitist in the area and my business cards would eventually bring portrait commissions and other fine art sales. I had to be out there though, and I did the work of promoting and exhibiting plus maintaining and designing the website, thanks to a tutor my own eldest Son a teenager then.
How did I get the University commission? I have done the art by the hundreds of portraits, not all commissions, I have worked cheaply or affordably, offering beautiful charcoal sketches on up to oil portraits and everything in between, such as pastel portraits, by promoting my website which maintained a 2/10ths Google Page Rank for many years. I have linked with many online venues, I have even advertised on CL and a and now enjoy good inbound links for my site. It has taken years of relentless attention to my web presence, thankfully, I now have a stable 3/10ths page rank from google. Partly because of my involvement with don't laugh e-cigarettes and all the political fall out there, consequently, on my Facebook and Twitter pages I am quite involved with organizations that support the right to choose a safer alternative to smoking. This has definitely helped draw attention to my artworks which also are obvious to anyone who lands on my website or social sites. If I don't breathe I don't paint! I found this internet hub, while surfing the net, what if any new advertising venues might I find to promote my website and increase the likelihood of commissions. I found internet hubs for local advertising, All being places that I have lived and had my work either commissions or paintings that have sold. I received an email from the Secretary of the Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan, while living in Ann Arbor in 2010, she was inquiring as to whether I'd be interested in painting a portrait of "Irene Hess" a woman pioneer in the field of Social Research (Statistician). It was a no brainer and I did the work, it was well received, the first time I have had the honor of being present at a formal hanging of one of my own portraits. Luck and persistence, it takes both and it never ends you are as known now as you make yourself continuously. Also, the year before a prominent person, had passed away, whose portrait I painted in 2008, Dr. Robert Brundage and the local newspaper editor called me and asked if they could use my artwork (portrait in oil) for the entire Oil Portrait Dr. Robert Brundage 1942 - 2009 Art By Lisabelle front page edition of their paper. That may have helped me obtain the University commission. It is tireless work, and I am going to make my own bumper sticker that reads "I'D RATHER BE PAINTING!" lol. Not traveling from coast to coast a total of 4 times since 2009. I am about to embark on the 5th ...lol...... I will keep my mouth shut....lol (I will take the 5th..... as to why I am living like this, why I believe in my work and why it drives me to where ever I go....