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One of New Zealand's top emerging artists is selling personalised portraits for only $100 a pop to finance a prestigious overseas residency.
Freeman White, who won last year's national portraiture award, has been invited to join the oldest portraiture gallery in the world on a two-month scholarship to Scotland.
To help pay for the trip, the 28-year-old Wellingtonian has to spend his weekends drawing portraits at the Fisher Gallery.
For the bargain basement price of $100, an original artwork is churned out in 45 minutes, a price within reach of the average art afficionado.
"A few people have said they're too cheap, but I think it's fair. It's still a good hourly rate," Freeman said.
"It's a double-edged sword. It's a way for me to generate income for the trip to Edinburgh, and provide affordable, original work."
Freeman has captured the images of the rich and famous, such as British actress Tilda Swinton, best known for her White Witch role in the Narnia movie, and the Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand.
Of the 20 or so portraits he has drawn, Freeman has had to redraw only two faces.
"I think that's a reasonably good success rate."
He was invited to work at the Scottish national portraiture gallery, after its director James Holloway judged his work to be the best in New Zealand last year.
Once in Edinburgh, Freeman hopes to meet influential curators, patrons and dealers to secure his long-term future as an established portrait artist.
"It's the first time a New Zealand painter has been invited over on this type of thing. It's a huge honour," Freeman said.
To get there, Freeman hopes to raise more money from an exhibition at the Black Barn Gallery in Hastings, and has applied for funding from Creative NZ and the Link Foundation, while the $12,500 prize from the national portraiture awards has been put in a savings account for a rainy day.
Like many artists, Freeman's income is unstable. He may spend four or five months creating works for an exhibition in the hope of selling a few, while also teaching art.
Although it has been difficult to make ends meet in the past 10 years, Freeman says the most frustrating issue is the "popular misconception that artists are lazy".
"I've had to put up with people saying: 'You don't know the meaning of hard work'. I've been working at this for 10 years, and it's only been since I won the portrait awards that I've had any potential of supporting myself.
"I've never had a nine-to-five, ever, it's not an option. I definitely have had that thought [to quit], it's not a choice, it's a lifestyle."
