Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dqdD-u8x3k&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=85
All right, so we are back here on the Choose 954 podcast with local artist Diane Portwood. If you didn't know about Choose 954, we started a social movement aiming to cultivate culture and community, bring people together over our shared passions of food, music, Tech Talks, in an effort to make our County a better place to live and not just a better place to vacation.
So we aim with the podcast to connect you with cool people like her, who are doing awesome things in the community. And if you haven't seen Diane's art yet, you're going to start seeing a lot more now that you're tuning into this podcast. So thank you for joining us.
Diane:Thank you.
Host:Of course! Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself?
Diane:So, I work full-time at this point. I have a background in environmental engineering, and I hope to get to use my degree. Art has taken over—I've been doing this now for up to two years, and it's obviously always been a passion and a hobby of mine, but it is something that's completely taken over my life at this point. I moved down to Fort Lauderdale about six months ago to really get into doing this full-time, and the move has very much helped me. I used to commute here from four hours north in Central Florida every weekend. I'd go to school during the week and then I'd be down here for art shows on the weekends.
Host:That's a bit of a crazy schedule.
Diane:Yeah, so eventually I just—well, I remember my senior year of school, there were times when I was rushing back to deliver commissions, like I rushed back for this final...
[Music]
Diane:Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and I’d pop up at the end of Sunday night at, you know, 10:00 to midnight, and I’d drive straight back four hours to Gainesville to be up at 6:00 a.m. to feed horses and cattle. So, I’m glad that I’m not doing that anymore. I’m still up early and up late doing this, but it’s a little bit less commuting.
Host:Yeah, so how did you get started in art?
Diane:Like I said, I’ve drawn and painted my whole life. I actually used to ride horses. I competed for the U.S. twice in the North American Junior Young Rider Championships, which is a bit of a whole—it’s just called Junior Olympics—and a sport called eventing, which is an equestrian sport. I took home gold both times, the first time team gold, and the second time individual gold. I had my sights set on trying to go to the Olympics. Unfortunately, in 2016, I had a horse fall on top of me and it actually fractured my pelvis, tore my labrum, ruptured my hip flexor, and left me partially paralyzed from the waist down for a bit.
Host:Wow.
Diane:Yeah, it was a huge change in my lifestyle. Obviously, I was an athlete, I was working outdoors all day managing farms, and I went from being very physically capable of handling that to not physically capable. During that time, I really turned to art as a stress reliever. I mean, I’ve never really done anything else. I was stuck in a wheelchair for a bit, and then on crutches for quite a long time after that, with lots of physical therapy. During that time, I had some pieces go viral online, and they sold without me even trying to market them.
Host:Wow.
Diane:So I figured, well, if I’m selling things without trying to, I should probably try to sell my work. And it completely took off from there.
Host:What did you attribute that to? Like, how did they start selling?
Diane:Well, because I knew so many people in the equestrian industry that were also involved in the art industry or collectors, they already liked my work. I knew them personally or they were friends on Facebook and things like that. So they saw my work, purchased it in an effort to support me through my injury, and it just kind of took off. I was lucky enough to know people that were interested in art and interested in me, and that kind of gave me the boost I needed to really start pursuing this.
Host:Sure. And so, from when you were growing up painting to that point, how did your style evolve and develop? What did you start painting, and kind of walk us through that transition to where you are now?
Diane:Yeah, as a kid, I used a lot of oil pastels. I did a lot of sketching. I actually didn’t do a ton of painting. When I did, it was in watercolor, and I mostly drew animals because I’ve always been obsessed with them—horses, obviously, because I rode them. From there, that’s really what I focused on before I really got into this.
After I got injured, a huge part of my focus became the human form. So if you look at a lot of my early work, it’s a lot of the female form and a lot of skeletons. It was really me watching the change in my body—my whole lower body completely atrophied. I lost muscle mass, and I looked completely different than I do now. Going through a ton of physical therapy, I was constantly looking at MRIs and X-rays, CAT scans, and a lot of my early work focused on that part of my life. It was like a cycle of growth. So you see a lot of my early stuff were skeletons with flowers, kind of representing that cycle, and then also just a lot of the female form because that was something I was struggling with in myself.
Host:I believe one of the first times I saw your work, I noticed a lot in that piece. Since we’re here in your studio, you painted on Grey’s Anatomy or other anatomy-type—
Diane:Yes, so a lot of my work—I kind of joke that I paint asses or astronauts. You know, they have bodies or some space-themed anatomy. It’s delta themes. I do use a lot of book pages, so I have skeleton pieces that use textbook pages from the medical textbook, Grey’s Anatomy. I have some astronaut pieces that have Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole” in the background. This particular painting is actually about my struggle with having to use social media so much to market myself as an artist.
Diane:This particular painting is actually about my struggle with having to use social media so much to market myself as an artist. I follow all this literature about how social media is inherently bad for you, and as I’ve read so much about exactly how bad it is for you, I have this weird kind of obsession with it, this love-hate relationship for it because it offers me a great way to advertise my art, but it's also stressful, and I don’t want it to take over my life. So these are actually pages from one of those books that I’ve read about the effects of social media. If you look at these pages, they’re about things like "think before you like," and social media addiction.
Host:Wow, that's really unique. So you’re using that concept of media addiction in your art. You do use a lot of book pages in your work, don’t you?
Diane:Yes, I do. I use that quite a lot in my work.
Host:And how would you categorize your style?
Diane:That is something I struggle with myself because I’m self-taught. I’ve now recently been reading a lot on art history and things like that, but I don’t have formal education. So at first, I classified myself as a street artist, but I don’t particularly fit that. I have elements of street art, I use graffiti sometimes, but not always. So now, I just classify myself as a contemporary fine artist, which is very broad. I have trouble putting my artwork into one more specific category—it doesn’t quite fit street art, it doesn’t quite fit pop art. I take elements from all of them, definitely.
Host:And it’s at a time where I would say that type of art is very popular. And it’s something we were talking about before, about Wynwood. Art never resonated with me growing up until I went to Wynwood. Traditional fine art, for me, never clicked until I went there, and I was like, “Wow, this is our generation, this is our demographic.” It’s things that anyone of any age can resonate with, especially with the different layers and levels to it. I didn’t even know that this piece dealt with your struggle with social media, but speaking to you now, it makes so much more sense. I love how it speaks to your intellectual background and education, which also paints a broader picture—pun intended.
Diane:Yeah, exactly.
Host:So you’ve done quite a few shows here in Broward, you’ve also shown work in Miami and other places as well. What are your thoughts on the Broward art landscape at the moment?
Diane:Well, there’s a reason I moved to Fort Lauderdale and not Miami. First of all, I get a little bit socially overwhelmed sometimes, and Miami is just a little too crazy for me. I just came from farmland, so the city life, in general, was a bit of a change. Also, before I moved down here, I was doing shows here in Broward and shows down in Miami, and I found that in general, the shows here are much more profitable for me. In Miami, you have more exposure and more people walking through Wynwood, but there aren’t as many buyers. Wynwood has turned into an oversaturated party scene, in my opinion. I have nothing against Wynwood—it's opened a lot of doors for many artists—but I think for newer artists, it’s become so expensive and so touristy that it’s not a great place for up-and-coming artists anymore.
Host:I think when you came to Yolo, you set the record for most prints sold in a night with the lip prints, right?
Diane:Yes, that was a great night! Those sold really well. I think I may have one left from that release. I just released it in March or February, and it’s almost gone.
Host:That’s amazing!
Diane:Yeah, that resin lip piece went really quickly. I was very happy about that.
Host:Well, you’re clearly doing something right. You mentioned art walks—what was the last art walk like for you? I remember seeing you going back and forth between different locations.
Diane:Yes, the last art walk was absolutely insane. I tend to take on more than I can chew—that’s a personality trait of mine that can be both positive and negative. I saw that it was going to rain, so I had two different display setups planned, thinking it wouldn’t be that busy because it’s an outdoor event. But then the rain cleared up, and a lot of people still came out. So I ended up taking on two more displays than I’d planned for, thinking it wouldn’t be that bad. I don’t have employees at this point, so I was running four different displays by myself.
Host:Four displays?!
Diane:Yes! There are two different areas of Fort Lauderdale’s Art Walk, and I was running between them. I was at the Good Market and in FATVillage, so I was constantly running back and forth. And it ended up being a great turnout, so I was selling prints at every location. I started running back and forth between displays to talk to people, manage sales, all of that. I did that from 6 p.m. until well after midnight. I had to set up and break down all the displays too.
Host:Where were your displays set up?
Diane:So I was displaying at The Good Market, which is in FATVillage. I had work with Eric at his new gallery in MASS District, Art of the Beat. I had a display in Flagler Village at a gallery that was doing an event during Art Walk. So yeah, four simultaneous art shows in one night.
Host:Four simultaneous art shows in one night! Wow, that's amazing. Not everyone has the ability to manage that.
Diane:Yeah, I tend to overbook myself. I like to do at least two weekends out of the month of art shows and at least three events in a weekend. So I keep myself very busy. If I can fit more in, I will. That particular weekend, I just had the opportunity, and I took it. And quite a bit sold, even on a day where I didn’t expect so much due to the rain.
Host:You really have to, especially with the art scene here in Broward. Unfortunately, we don’t have a strong gallery scene here. Yes, we have galleries on Las Olas, but that’s a different market. For independent artists, there aren’t as many major art fairs, aside from Art Fort Lauderdale, which happens once a year. You sell in other places like San Francisco too, right?
Diane:Yes, I work with Fine Arts in San Francisco, and they’ve been great. They sell my lip series. I also work with smaller galleries in California for themed shows. Essentially, I provide work for gallery openings based on their themes. I market a lot online, too. That’s a huge portion of my sales. And as you mentioned, working with galleries is hard—especially getting representation, because galleries are inundated with representation requests. They also take a large portion of the sale price, or they buy the work outright for a much lower price. And that’s just how the business works—they need to pay rent, especially in expensive cities. But it makes it hard for up-and-coming artists to get their foot in the door and build credibility with a large gallery.
Host:Right. There’s the traditional gallery route and then the independent artist route. Thankfully, you’ve built up a great following on Instagram and have been creative with marketing yourself, which has been successful. Speaking of Instagram, what advice would you give aspiring artists?
Diane:I would say that you need to have your eggs in a lot of different baskets, and you can specialize later when you figure out what works best for you. Right now, there are so many different ways to be involved in the art scene. Some of them require more upfront costs than others. When I did my first shows, I didn’t own a tent—I couldn’t even afford to go to the bigger events that required tents. The great thing about Art Walk is you don’t need a tent—you can just set up with a table. So you don’t have to make a big initial investment.
The cheapest tent you can buy costs about $200, and those fall apart in six months. That’s money a lot of artists don’t have. You really have to start small and work within your means. Maybe start by doing online marketing to sell prints. Once you make some sales, then you can buy a tent or a table and start doing more events. It’s not going to happen overnight, and it didn’t happen overnight for me either. I’ve grown into this fairly quickly, and I’ve been lucky in some ways, but it took a lot of hard work.
Host:That’s great advice. You can’t just jump into this and expect it to happen overnight. How do you balance your creative work with the business side of things?
Diane:It’s tough. As an artist, you want to focus on creating, but you also have to spend just as much time on the business and marketing side if you want to make a living. I think that’s where a lot of great artists struggle—they don’t think about the business aspect. You have to pay attention to the business side if you want to do this full-time.
Host:And you’ve clearly found a good balance. So, just to give our listeners a better idea, how much are your pieces going for these days?
Diane:It depends on the size. My smallest lip series pieces are one foot by one foot, and they sell for around $250 each. On the higher end, I have large pieces like this one behind me that are six feet by seven feet, and I’m asking $8,000 for it. My work usually sells in the $3,500 to $8,000 range, depending on the size and medium.
Host:That’s a pretty good range, especially considering where you started. You mentioned that a couple of years ago, you were selling your work for a few hundred dollars, and now it’s in the thousands.
Diane:Yes, it’s been a steady progression. Two and a half years ago, I was selling large pieces for $800. But as I’ve grown and improved, so has the value of my work.
Host:That’s incredible. And it's something we talk about often—supporting local artists early in their careers, because their work is an investment. Your work has already appreciated significantly, and it will likely continue to do so. You’re making an investment in an artist’s future when you buy their work.
Diane:Exactly.
Host:Exactly. And that's what we’re trying to foster here with initiatives like the local artist Discovery Series at Yolo. We want to help people discover local talent and support them early in their careers because, as you said, it’s an investment. So, what’s next for you?
Diane:I have quite a few projects coming up. I’m looking at a few displays for Art Basel. I’m hoping to get into Spectrum and also have smaller displays during that time. I’ll continue to be at Art Walk every month. It’s two blocks from my house, so it’s easy for me to do it regularly. Plus, as I mentioned, I always do well at the Art Walk. I also want to get more involved in the mural scene. That’s a big goal for me—doing larger outdoor spaces and public art. I’ve done a few small murals for businesses, but I want to start working on bigger projects.
Another goal of mine is to expand into a full small business with employees. I’d like to have people managing booths and helping me with the production of my mounted prints. I release editions of 100 for each piece, and it’s a lot to produce by myself. So the next step is to start hiring people and make this into a real business with employees who can help me scale up.
Host:That’s great. Growing into a small business is a huge step, and it sounds like you’re well on your way. Have you thought about starting with interns or apprentices?
Diane:Yes, I’ve thought about that. It’s definitely something I’m considering before I hire full-time employees. It’s a whole new area for me, so I’m exploring my options before making any big decisions.
Host:That makes sense. And who knows—maybe someone listening to this podcast might be interested in apprenticing with you. If you’re an artist or student looking to learn from a professional, drop Diane a line. Where can they find you online?
Diane:The best way to reach me for any business inquiries is through my website, DianePortwood.com. I handle commissions, print purchases, and any other questions through my website. You can also follow me on Instagram at @DianePortwood, where I post updates on my work, process videos, and my latest projects.
Host:Perfect! And for those of you listening, don’t forget that you can find Diane at Fort Lauderdale Art Walk, the last Saturday of every month in Flagler Village. We curate all the exhibits happening across FATVillage, MASS District, and Sistrunk in one place, so you can easily see what’s going on. Just check out our monthly Art Walk event page on Facebook for more info.
Before we wrap up, are there any final thoughts or shoutouts you want to give?
Diane:I want to give a shoutout to MASS District and all the great artists over there, like Eric from Art of the Beat. He’s been a big help, especially during the last Art Walk. And of course, thank you to everyone who’s supported my journey. I wouldn’t be here without all the people who have believed in me and my work.
Host:That’s awesome. We love MASS District and all the great things happening over there. We also have the MASS Mixer coming up this Thursday, which is a free meetup for creatives, artists, and community members. It’s a great way to connect with people doing awesome things in one of our up-and-coming art districts. Definitely check that out if you’re in the area.
And as always, we’re continuing our weekly local artist Discovery Series at Yolo, where we bring in different artists to live paint. We’re on our 77th straight week, and it’s been amazing seeing artists like Diane come through, sell work, and connect with the community.
Lastly, Diane, you should definitely come to Action Club sometime. It’s a free accountability mastermind group that meets every other Tuesday at General Provision in FATVillage. It’s a great way to set goals, share ideas, and get support from other creatives and entrepreneurs. It’s really inspiring, and I think you’d enjoy it.
Diane:That sounds awesome. I’ll definitely check it out!
Host:Great! Well, thanks so much for joining us today, Diane. It’s been a pleasure having you on the podcast, and we look forward to seeing what’s next for you.
Diane:Thank you so much for having me. It’s been great!
Host:Alright, folks, that’s it for today’s episode of the Choose 954 podcast. Don’t forget to follow Diane on Instagram @DianePortwood and check out her website for prints and commissions. We’ll catch you at the next Fort Lauderdale Art Walk or Yolo event. Until then, keep supporting local art and culture. Cheers!
Host:And before we sign off, I just want to remind everyone that if you haven’t already, make sure you follow Choose 954 on social media. We’ve got a lot of great events coming up, including the Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week in January, which will feature the first-ever Art Fair on the water. It’s an art experience you won’t want to miss—four days of art exhibitions in private mansions along the Las Olas waterways, only accessible by boat. That’s happening January 24th to the 27th, so save the date!
We’re also working on some exciting collaborations with the local architecture community, including an architectural tour of Fort Lauderdale. And as Diane mentioned earlier, Art Basel is coming up soon, and there’s a lot of buzz around that. We’re excited to support our local artists like Diane as they take part in this internationally recognized event.
Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates on all these events, as well as our ongoing Artist Discovery Series, Art Walk, and more. If you’re interested in volunteering, sponsoring, or getting involved in any of our projects, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thanks again for tuning in. We’ll see you guys in our walk
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