Quitting Is Not An Option

I talk to a lot of artists. The other day I ran into a talented watercolorist that I know. She told me that she was moving and that due to the changes that her life was bringing her way that she had decided to give up painting.

I didn't believe her.

Years ago I tried to do the same thing. Work and the responsibilities of a family didn't mesh well at the time with my artistic desires and ambitions. After coming home to a toddler's scribble fest on my desk, walls, the art I was working on, I decided that it was time to give up the dream and just quit art altogether. Obviously, you've figured out that I was unsuccessful in doing so. In a lot of ways it was like putting a lid on a pot of boiling water.

Art still found it's way through me.

I became an incessant doodler, and still took in a ton of influences. When the opportunity to pursue art seriously came about, I decided to give it a final serious chance. Years spent not believing that I'd be successful with it kept my expectations low. In fact, this blog was begun as an effort to chronicle my attempt. I wanted to have what would be either a record of "that time I tried to be an artist" or a valuable look into my "early years".

As an artist, I'm surprised by the many things I've accomplished in such a short time. When I entered my first art show, at the local community center, I'd have never believed that a year later I'd be organizing shows or that two years later I'd be the director of a gallery. Along the way I've sold artwork, won awards, been complimented by artists greater than I could hope to become. I'm still moving forward with my art and I'm thankful for all of the successes that I've had along the way. Thanks to all of the people who have had a hand in it.

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Current Show Update

Wow, the long days and short amount of sleep are brutal. I forgot to bring my camera today and so of course I saw all kinds of strange people. There was one woman who had done the black outline around her lipstick, but only on the top. It totally made her look like John Waters. Not too impressed with this venue, it's a lot more low end craft then they let on in their information. At least we got a great spot at the show:You know what they say: location, location, location!

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Expectations > Reality

So I'm up here just outside Chicago for my wife's art show. Rumor has it that it's a really good show to do, but my impression based on what I saw at setup was that it is very heavy on crafts and lighter on art. That could be an advantage if people are there looking for art, because there wouldn't be much in the way of competition. Looking at long show hours tomorrow, so I'm keeping this entry brief. I wish I had something more exciting for post #300 but this will have to do. Here's a few pictures of the show:Here's a shot of my lovely wife posing with her complete booth after setup today.
This is a view from the second floor, probably half of the people had set up at this point in the day. What you're seeing is only a small portion of the entire facility, which is fairly large and has two levels of displays.

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