For months, I have been applying for a position as a Pet Portrait Artist with a company that let’s just say rhymes with “Schmooey”. Every week or so I send another letter along with samples of my work and links to my website. Every week I get absolutely no reply. This isn’t the only place ghosting me. If someone doesn’t like my work, that’s fine, but I hate to waste my time and theirs with a bunch of unwanted letters.
Gma nags me to keep contacting these places, but I wonder where does the line fall between “persistent” and “pathetic”? How many tries does it take before I get the hint?
Don’t kid yourself mom. You’re always pathetic.
The Adventures of Bitey Dog 
When it comes to art, it takes a lot of nos before you get a yes. So keep asking, and getting those nos so someday you will get a yes.
It’s not just art. Employers aren’t being very courteous, then they wonder why folks don’t want to work for them.
YOU ARE THE BEST. NEVER EVER PATHETIC THEY ARE BRUTE IGNORANT. TRY A PLAIN LETTER ASKING IF THEY ARE ALL ILLITERATE AND UNABLE TO WRITE AN ANSWER. IF SO YOU ARE SORRY FOR THEM !
Some of them are local businesses, so I am trying not to burn bridges. Still, part of me would like to say something cranky. 😆
A quick google search turned up these two links on the subject of schmooey (wink, wink) pet portraits:
https://www.dailypaws.com/pet-news-entertainment/pet-news/chewy-sends-customers-custom-pet-portraits
and
https://www.offthewallpaintings.com/galleries
The first link is about the business of pet portraits done by this company. The second is a link to a person who paints for the company, but also does nursery art, etc.
Well, it’s my considered opinion that the company is sort of cranking out, what we affectionately called in the art history department (note: affectionately = scoffs at with glee) schlock art. Honestly, the person who has the category of nursery art…, well it all looks cartoonish and nursery-like to me in both the style and colors.
How on earth can a portrait be completed in two hours?? And how are any of these paintings capturing any level of realism? Scmooey says that’s what they are looking for from a painter. If I wanted to go all art history on you, I’d call it photorealism (think Robert Estes) to describe what they think they’re after. However, if I had to describe what I see and the feeling I get from looking at these paintings that are deemed acceptable, I’d liken it to my first time in Phest Phuy (so not as clever as schmooey, but you get what I mean) and HD televisions were a new thing. So there were a few walls of these new, appallingly huge televisions all on, many of them on the same channel. It was a cacophony of noise and the colors looked so artificially hyper-bright and were just flashing everywhere. It reminded me of how video games might affect a player just before they have a seizure from their brain synapses being over-stimulated. So that’s what Schmooey is looking for from a painter hyper-bright cartoon paintings. They aren’t looking for you. Tell whoever Gma is to bugger off.
Or another option is to dumb down your art to fit Schmooey and re-apply. Every artist has had crap jobs in order to make cash, but honesty your work is far better and categorically classical and you may not want to sign your name to cartoon paintings that are so awful. It’s too bad there aren’t patrons of the arts anymore. Where is the Medici family when you need them…?
I at my dashboard, and your comment is marked “Approved”. Hope it is visible on my site because it was a great one. Thank you so much for those links! I had read several articles like the first one, but I had never seen a collection of Ch…I mean Schmooey art before. It is comforting to know I am not being rejected because I am god-awful but because my style doesn’t match. (Of course, Schmooey could have told me that and saved us both some grief.) Yes, I think I would rather be who I am rather than trying to be what they want. Thanks so much for writing!
Wrote a long comment, but it was blocked/deleted. Not sure by who or why, but it must have been unfit or the links were verboten.
So for the sake of brevity in a message: keep at your art. I can assure you that money isn’t everything.
Aw, not pathetic. Persistent for sure. Keep trying!
It sad, angering, and a shame they don’t know how to respond and not leave a person wondering. 😦
(((HUGS))) ❤
Thanks! Yes, if only they would have said, “Thanks, but your style does mot match what we’re looking for”, it would have been nicer. Oh well, back to my canvases…
Yes, I agree. It’s frustrating. 😦
Let’s send Toby and Cooper after them! 😉 😛
Change your name to Kincaide and advertise as “Painter of Light Dogs.” Do I have to think of everything around here?
😂. Evidently you do!
That company sent me two lovely little portraits of Hershey and Winkie several years ago, just as a goodwill gesture. Nothing near your standard artistically, but I thought it was sweet. They were always very responsive and personable. But in 2017 they were bought by a bigger corporation, and the personal touch was lost to a great extent. They don’t deserve you, but I bet you could do better in three brush strokes than what they seem to be looking for!
Aw, that was sweet of them to send you tribute paintings! I hadn’t known about the change in ownership.
(Thank you also for being supportive of my nonsense.😊)
Your portraits are fabulous! They should scoop you right up.
Thank you! ❤️
I wish others agreed with you. I’m starving out here.