You mean beyond the usual 'lack of income' issue? When I started freelancing my biggest challenge was that I was not very knowledgeable about business. I had to learn from scratch about sending proper invoices, how to make your materials look professional, that sort of thing. I spent a lot of time researching what others did.
A business woman I knew could see that I was trying, and gave me some good basic advice about how to run a small business and actually make a profit. When I started looking at the process as being a matter of sales, creating a consistently high quality product, delivery, supplies, promotion, costing, etc., I was able to start making a living.
And in any art museum, portraits are everywhere: in every style, color, and size, from every country and created by every type of artist.
In a portrait's brushstrokes we find a path connecting us to another human on a timeless level.
Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, van Gogh and Rembrandt's many self-portraits, these are just a few of the well-known portraits that have come down to us through the ages. Their popularity is testimony to the power and value of capturing personality, character, and aspect, on canvas.
Oil paint captures the living qualities of the human face and body like no other medium. Skillfully handled, the portrait transcends technique and draws the viewer in, and a single artist creates a treasure for us all.