Confessions of an Aspiring Artist: Fall 2015
Hello Artisans,
If you haven’t found out yet I spend a ton of my spare time enjoying the process of making art. Afternoons are spent thinking about new ways to create innovative pieces of artwork and to expand my brand. Then, every day I look at my work objectively and this seems to be one of those moments.
I mean really an artist must ask oneself “how many piece of artwork do you need to be a successful artist?”. Depending on the artist some would argue it is better to have many. Then, quite the contrary can be the truth based on economics scarcity is favored. Which argument is true…. I will never be willing to say. I did google the amount of paintings Pablo Picasso created and it was around 50, 000 in his collection. Also he was quoted saying “Give me a gallery and I will fill it…”
So to me it would make sense that the amount of painting needed to be successful is infinite depending on your level of commitment to creating a body of artwork, content, and time. Picasso lived to be 91 years old. Then you have the story of Vincent Van Gogh only creating about 2,000 paintings and died at 37 years old. Each artist living and existing with the same intent of creating artwork.
During Picasso’s life he became rich from selling his artwork. However, Van Gogh only sold one of his paintings in his lifetime. I cant say that my story is at either extreme but I have my goals and over time have defined success for myself.
I started painting in 1997 in middle school as an outlet to deal with some of the pre-teen growing pains. I had experimented and won several awards. A few awards that were really significant for me were the two Stephanie Tubbs Jones mixed media awards I received including: Utrecht, Bedford Garden Club, Garfield Friends of the Library….(Awards were coming from all over the place..lol).
It was then I realized I had a gift that was meant to be shared with the world. It was the fall of 2001, I decided to go to Randall Park Mall and sell my paintings. I had only about twenty five to thirty paintings completed at that time. I did not have a magic number because I was fearless. I wanted to have my artwork seen and it was then I sold my first paintings. It was a two part series titled “Tale of Twin Cities” and I sold them both unframed for $125 dollars at Randall Park Mall in Milano’s on the second floor. It was a beautiful couple from Fremont, Ohio a place I had never heard of. At the time I asked them because one day I knew that I would be on a quest to find them and my paintings again. Every time I reach the same conclusion, to me success is creating a legacy. I have overcome many obstacles in my lifetime but fear of lack will not be one.
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