Painting large and thinking new
Doreen O”™Connor is something of a throwback, an educated artist and self-taught businesswoman who now must look to new avenues to promote herself. But one thing that will not change in the new paradigm: She will still make murals to beautify buildings from homes to schools.
“If it doesn”™t move, I have probably painted on it,” said O”™Connor, proprietor of Wildflowers, a decorative and mural painting business based in Poughquag in southern Dutchess County. “When I was an art major, I didn”™t know you could make money painting peoples”™ walls.
“It”™s a decorative painting business,” said O”™Connor, who does faux-finishes, sponge finishes, artificial stone, murals and even “windows on walls where there aren”™t any.”
She didn”™t set out to be a decorative expert, though she always had art in mind. But though she attained a Master”™s in Art Education, in the early 1970s she found school districts either refused to pay for a qualified art teacher or thought it had to be a man.
“Back then, it was still legal to tell a woman they wanted a man for the job,” she said. On more than one occasion, O”™Connor said a male personnel official declined to hire her despite her expertise. “They said they didn”™t think a woman could teach high school art.”
“There weren”™t many places to make a living just with art,” O”™Connor said and so she took a job in another field she loved, working for Historic Hudson Valley, which operates a network of historic sites in the Hudson Valley area. But even during nearly 20 years in that field, “I was always doing art,” she said. One day in 1990 she got back into art professionally and almost quite casually.
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“I ran an ad in the Pennysaver seeing if anyone wanted faux-finishing and there wasn”™t anyone else doing it,” she said. She had a niche but with a niche comes responsibility for meeting demand and with verve and confidence, she filled it.
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“The first time someone asked me if I knew sponging, I said yes then I had to get some big sheets and experiment but I pulled it off and it came out very nice,” said O”™Connor.
“When I started the business I didn”™t have the money to take courses,” said O”™Connor. “And then once the business was going I didn”™t want to take the time off for classes.”
She has done work mostly in Westchester but also in Putnam, Rockland, and Dutchess counties. She moved to Dutchess from Westchester in 2002 to live in a rural area that allows her peace and quiet for her continued work in creating watercolor paintings even as she continues to operate her business.
“I was doing all kinds of stuff, getting work all the time, having to fight to get a day off just to see clients,” she said.
But the Great Recession didn”™t only affect automakers and Wall Street bonus babies. “Business has definitely let up, and with the economy the way it is I am fighting to make ends meet,” said O”™Connor.
She is seeking new outlets to advertise her skills. “I am trying to figure out what would be the best route for advertising,” she said, admitting to an unfamiliarity with computers.
Like any smart business person, she is adjusting to the times. “I have come back down,” O”™Connor said. “I was doing my rate and giving discounts for previous customers but I have gone back to that discount rate for everyone. It”™s better to get less per day than not get the work.”
She said that she is still getting work from designers who know of her skills and reliability. Those who want to learn more about her business can call (845) 221-6152.