I just got home from checking out a fellow artist's new work that had been hung in a local restaurant. Here on the east side of the island, there aren't a lot of exhibition opportunities, so local restaurants become alternative spaces to hang work. On my arrival, I looked around and saw the works and immediately thought that when I reach the ripe old age of 80, that first, I never have to hang my work on wall where people are eating and secondly, I hope that I have a lot more work than just a few watercolors of landscapes. I often feel I am torn between being an artist who sells and being an artist. The pressure of creating works that target a certain group of people isn't what I want to be doing, although that is what I am falling into. And it scares me. There are plenty of artists around that paint nice little landscapes and flowers, but that is not what I want to be. I want to be an artist that has something to say. Which means that I probably won't sell. But there seems to be a rule that if you don't sell, then you are not a success. What makes an artist successful? I think it must mean staying true to yourself and having the courage not to fall into the fallacy that success means money. I am grateful that I have a husband who is willing to take care and support me in my search for my own truth through my art. Now if I can only have faith that I will persevere.
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