Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Royce.
Hi Lori, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The beginning of my Artist story was always challenging yet fun. Even when I was so broke, I could barely scrape up the funds to buy paints and had to use cheap brushes instead of my favorite expensive sable-hair paintbrushes. Those brushes glided the paints smoothly across the canvas. So soft, light and professional. I couldn’t buy them when I first started painting. Disappointing. I had to think. How do I afford the high quality art supplies I wanted? Answer: Sell more art to pay for the supplies!
That’s always been my push. Sell more artwork to make more money to support myself. I could paint & draw well from early on. I had that. I was never going to stop creating. However, what I needed more consistently was to sell.
For years my work was exhibited in Galleries throughout South Florida. My name in the papers, my artwork featured on the news, my awards announced on TV, Press Releases, Opening Receptions, Parties, Live Events, and my face in front of the camera. But I was making little money. I had to make some changes. What was driving the Art Market at that time? I discovered it was in-person sales between the Artist and Buyer directly. I had to think. How were the Artists selling? Answer: At outdoor festivals. So I bought myself a tent.
The outdoor art festivals were good to me. Thousands of people attended these events. Journalists were interviewing me and strangers were buying my art; but it was hard work. Physically tiring hauling approximately 25 paintings into a vehicle, strapping everything down, fighting bad weather, setting up my booth, hanging the 25 paintings, and not sleeping for 2 days straight. It was great when I sold. I made a tidy profit for a few years. It was time consuming researching the shows, applying to the shows, getting ready for the shows, and traveling all over Florida to exhibit at these festivals. Lifting and hanging my 18″x24″ & 24″x36″ paintings and drawings framed under glass & heavy moulding. I had to think. How could I make it easier for myself? Answer: Be in only one place repeatedly, where people always knew where to find me.
But Where? I already received my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, so school was done. Too much money to rent an artist’s studio space. Too much of a risk to open my own art gallery. So, where did I end up? Answer: The electrifying Cafe Tu Tu Tango!
For (5)years I painted LIVE at an easel inside a busy Miami restaurant with my canvases, paints & brushes, performing their own show while hundreds of people watched me paint. I was quite prolific at my easel and loved every minute of it. Steady art sales, friends and family visiting me constantly, delicious free food for me & the other Artists, great dance music, other performers, and lively staff. Electrifying energy all around me. People were buying me wine & asking for my autograph. This was the Artist Life I dreamed about! Life got even better. Some people in the Modeling world were dining in the restaurant one night and wrote down the name of a Modeling Agency on a cocktail napkin and handed me the napkin while I was covered in paint. (cliche’ but that’s the truth). A few weeks later, I was signed by that Agency. Now I had two amazing careers going full speed ahead at the same time. Artist & Model. What excitement and what a blessing. But Cafe Tu Tu Tango closed eventually. All I had left was the Modeling. I liked being a Professional Model and working with many famous & talented people in the industry, so I stayed with it. I was getting booked on shoots almost every week, often 2-3 times a week and enjoying it. But I missed selling my artwork. I had to think. Where was the Art Market now? Answer: In clothing and home goods.
All over the stores, I saw artwork printed on fabrics, rugs, wallpaper, clothing, furniture, handbags, etc., wondering who created that artwork? How did the manufacturers find Artists? I researched it. I learned that Artists were self-promoting on the internet, getting hired as freelancers & designers. So what did I do? I set up my first online Artist Profile. Then set up another and another. Whatever online sites were free where Artists could promote themselves, I set it up. And it worked! VIDA, a clothing company based out of California, contacted me after having seen my seascape & sunset paintings on the internet and asked if I would sign an Agreement to be a designer. I said, “Yes.” I was thrilled! My art was going to be printed on clothing and home goods. I design the products using my artwork images, and VIDA handles the customer sales, production & shipping. It’s been a delightful business relationship for the past several years, and I continue to grow my collection at shopVIDA.com today. Yet I wanted more. I craved my artwork to be on canvas too. But How? Where was the Art Market going? What did the Buyers want? Who were the current Buyers? I noticed people were moving into large houses all over Florida, and I suspected they needed large paintings to fill their walls. But how would I get my artwork in front of these homeowners? And how could I fulfill the demand if it happened quick, as I am only one person, one Artist? I couldn’t paint that fast. I had to think. Where was the Art Market now? Answer: In Prints!
I was quietly sitting in my car one day, thinking about how to sell more paintings, when my cell phone rang. The caller ID read: Boston, MA. I didn’t know anyone in Boston, but my intuition told me to answer the call. It was the Art Buyer for Wayfair. One of the biggest online shopping retailers was Wayfair, and they were calling me. I was stunned! The person on the phone worked in the corporate office and had seen many pictures of my art. Wayfair wanted my artwork to be a part of their “Home Decor Wall Art” division, and asked me if they could they send me a contract?
I said: “Yes.” I was ecstatic! Prints on canvas were popular in the Art Market. I could sell prints through Wayfair without having to paint/draw a new piece every time a customer wanted to buy my art. This solved my issue of being a one-woman business owner with no staff. So I went for it, and it worked out. It still does today. Money was coming into my business more effortlessly, yet I still wanted to keep most of my income rather than split it with two big corporate companies. After all, I am on a commission basis only. Artists should be paid close to 100% of the sale, not just a small portion. I had to think. How could I make that happen? Answer: Promote my artwork myself with my own website and online store. I needed to learn how. So I took a class.
Recently I signed up for a class on ‘How To Have A Thriving Online Art Business’. For (6) months every Saturday/Sunday, I went to class diligently, remotely, and from home. I turned a spare bedroom into my new “Living An Artist Life” corporate headquarters, so I could take the course seriously and begin learning how to sell my art online as a business Entrepreneur and not just a hopeful Artist. I built the new website myself, increased my website traffic greatly, started a monthly Newsletter and gained thousands of loyal followers. My online presence in the Artist marketplace is stronger than ever in my entire career. The sales are better too. I charge more money now for my originals; my clients are paying the higher prices. I feel more responsible, which moves me to paint better as an Artist, which raises the price. The client & Artist are happy.
My goal from this day is to keep creating my exhilarating seascapes, sunrises & sunsets and to get better and better as a Fine Artist while increasing my revenue as I get better and better at being an Entrepreneur. As for those art supplies I couldn’t afford back then? Today I am happy to tell you I can buy luxurious paints made in Europe & also those expensive sable-hair paintbrushes I love. What’s next for me and my art? Stay in touch to find out. Exciting things to come!
Would it have been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A real personal struggle was what to call my business. Artists normally use their first and last names within their company name. But my last name is Royce. It’s everywhere on the internet! I tried using it for many years as a business name and it failed. Why? Because there are so many companies that are already using the name Royce. It exudes an air of class. Examples: Royce Studio, Royce Art Gallery, Royce Art Brokers, Royce Antiques, Royce Photography & the list continues. Of course add to the list the ultimate name: Rolls-Royce! My own name wasn’t popping up anywhere online when people searched for it or searched for my art. No one could find me if I wasn’t in front of them in person. All the other companies that use ‘Royce’ in their title have taken all the internet slots. No room for me. That’s a dead end when trying to market your business online. Yet I am the original Royce! It is my birth name. I needed to rebrand and rename my business under something other than my own name. I also had to figure out how to include all of my talents under one company: Artist/Model/Clothing&Home Goods Art Designer. That’s how ‘Living An Artist Life’ was born. Once I published my new website with my new business name my online traffic picked up the pace at lightening speed. People were following me and my art career. Inquiries were coming in for exhibits, sales, painting commissions & modeling jobs. When my business used to be called ‘Lori Royce Studio’ or ‘Royce Paintings’ nothing really happened online. Luckily the name change was the right move!
I never wanted a different career. It was a fairly smooth road because I already had part of my reason for being sorted out. I have always known that I am an Artist. I know why I am here. I’ve been an Artist my entire life and have enjoyed it from the start.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I have often been told that my artwork allows the viewer to catch a glimpse of looking through a “Window to the World.” I’m known for my glowing sunrises/sunsets and silky seascapes. Noticing Mother Nature emitting her powerful existence, I capture that unfolding scene onto canvas. You want to travel to that place; you want to walk along that beach; you want to remember that sunrise forever; you want to feel the softness of that ocean flowing over your skin. I paint from life. My life! My eyes, my soul, and my personality are in every piece I create. Excitement & joy are balanced with calm, sensual softness, and peace. From the smooth pastels to the seductive oil paints, the art supplies are carefully chosen for each creation. Whether I’m touching and blending pastels with my fingers onto paper or my arm is working the paintbrush into a dance onto the canvas, each painting or drawing is carefully crafted. From painting on location to drawing in my studio, I only work on one piece at a time so that every piece has my total focus. I’m most satisfied when I hear from past Buyers on how my artwork within their collection, makes them smile year after year. At the beginning of my career I used to think buying art wasn’t a necessary purchase. Thankfully I know better now. Buying and owning a special piece of art targets your brain to bring out specific emotions. Important emotions. My art explicitly preserves my feelings suspended in time when I created that piece. If you have one of my pieces, you chose to make a lifelong connection with me. We now share the emotions of great pleasure & enlightenment.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I paint for myself now. I don’t try to paint what and how others want me to paint anymore because my heart was never in it. If I’m being true to myself and allowing myself to create for just me, then my paintings/drawings will reflect that & transform into the highest level of creation I can possibly achieve!
Pricing:
- Original 16″x20″ $1,600-$2,000
- Original 18″x24″ $1,800-$2,400
- Original 24″x36″ $3,000-$3,600
- Original 36″x48″ $3,800-$4,800
- Original 5ft & over $5,000 & up
Contact Info:
Image Credits:
Professional Photographer: John Fisher shot both modeling pictures. Picture of me in a long green dress & picture of me jogging along the beach in shorts.
