Waterford — The biggest obstacle to artists making a decent living these days might not be as much of an obstacle as one might think, said a panel of experts Thursday during a "Business of Art" summit at the Charter Oak Federal Credit Union attended by about 25 people.

"The hardest thing is getting folks in Connecticut out of the house," said Kia Baird, a classically trained singer who also works for the social service agency Community Solutions.

This works both ways, said the panel: artists sometimes don't bother to attend exhibit openings, and the market for paintings and performances appears to be dwindling, especially among the younger generation.

Matt Nemeth, a musician who also serves as a business adviser with the Connecticut Small Business Development Center, said cultural and psychological barriers stand in the way of artists developing the networks necessary to turn their work into a business. Mostly, he and others said, it's a matter of artists learning how to speak to one another — and with potential clients.

"It's very important to stay visible — to stay in front of people as much as possible," Baird said.

Fine artist Gigi Liverant said she spends about 70 percent of her time marketing her work and only 30 percent actually creating art.

"You want to be out there," Liverant said. "Marketing is a big part of what you have to do as an artist."

But Barbara Richardson Crouch, director of development for Hygienic Art, noted that nurturing collectors is a large part of the equation, too. Yet few artists, she said, know enough to send a thank-you card to people who have bought their paintings or to engage potential buyers in conversations to promote their art.

"It's the little things that slip through the cracks," she said. "The story (behind an artist's work) is why a lot of people in this area collect."

But Roger Tremblay, a former engineer in the audience who said he turned to art without a great deal of success, wondered whether the panel had the whole model upside down. Why not, he asked, form an organization that hires artists and then takes all the responsibility for marketing their work and taking care of other details, such as business development, websites and accounting.

"Accountants aren't really much on dreamers," responded Marcia Marien of the CPA firm O'Connor Davies.

Wendy Bury, executive director of the Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition that hosted the summit, agreed that the idea seemed unrealistic.

But Eric Sheffield and Stephanie Fear, who are raising funds through GoFundMe.com for the proposed Bold As Love Guild & Emporium in Norwich, said they are trying to accomplish a similar end by creating a place where artists can display a variety of arts and crafts. The for-profit emporium would keep only 20 percent of the proceeds from art sales, they said, and performance art would be part of the equation as well.

"We want Norwich to be a working-artist city," Sheffield said.

Panelists didn't directly address this new business model, but said under current conditions artists really do have to branch out to sell their talent.

"You don't have a choice," Baird said. "If you love art, if you want to continue doing it, you've got to learn new skills."

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow