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CommentsThe Susan Factor
A 417-land artist unlocks and event-marketing mojo that's taken her from Bass Pro to Beijing.
By Gregory Holman
Photo Edward Biamonte
Susan Sommer-Luarcahas made a name for herself all over the world with stylized paintings of animals and habitats, plus the ability to paint live at events.
Susan does that has given her work mass appeal. It’s taken her from Bass Pro to the Kentucky Derby to NASCAR to Preakness and Beijing.
She paints live. It turns out that live painting is a sharp event-marketing tool for major institutions looking to build some crowd-pleasing buzz. She began doing it 15 years ago for Bass Pro. “People ask many questions,” she says. “It brings attention to something. It teaches kids about habitats and environment.”
Fast-forward. At the 2007 Kentucky Derby, Susan painted an image of Barbaro to raise money for charity. Cameras from ESPN and The New York Times followed her around.
Since then, interest in the Susan factor has surged. In 2008, she’ll be live painting at the Super Bowl, the Best of 417 Party (Feb. 24), the Preakness Stakes and in the Beijing Olympics. She’ll also be doing the largest indoor mural ever (according to Guinness) for World Aquarium in St. Louis.
Susan Sommer-Luarca Worldwide (sslworld wide.com) has truly become a multimedia/ international/cottage industry for Susan and and her husband/manager, E.J. Luarca, so much so that they gave up on their Springfield furniture boutique, Tradewinds, in favor of a brand-new gallery/full-service frame shop.
Business Lessons from an Artist
• Meet the market at different price points. The new Susan Sommer-Luarca Gallery is a venue for prints priced at $900 to $1,200 rather than $25,000 to $30,000 for an original.• Build goodwill by doing good. Susan spends much time painting murals of wild habitats, bringing painting to folks with Alzheimer’s and live-painting at horse races… all for charity. The good publicity can’t hurt, either.
