roses

 

I’m incredibly honored to be a featured artist in the December 18 online issue of The Dallas Business Journal for my painting, Let the Joy in Roses and Peonies and as a leading artist in the Dallas art market in their 2017 Book of Lists. What a joy and privilege to be featured in this amazing publication!

…

This weekend my husband and I saw The Best of Broadway at the Dallas Summer Musicals for our anniversary. Multiple Tony award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell performed The Impossible Dream from the hit musical Man From LaMancha, and it was the first time I had heard it in person. As I listened to the words, I was utterly still, riveted and frozen from the impact of the power of the voice and the message. I could not help but compare this story to that of an artist: someone ridiculed for an impossible quest, a pursuit not to be taken seriously.

I think we as artists all feel the scorch of derision from time to time, and we all get discouraged, if not from others’ words and society’s dismissal, then by the utter solitude of hours alone in the studio. Learning, painting, constructing, deconstructing, self-doubting, self-questioning, destroying and erasing and wiping and starting again and starting again and starting again.

And all the while wondering, are we just tilting at windmills?

As we persist and push past the fear, it’s those moments of victory in solitude with a color, a stroke placed just rightly so, or a finished painting that at last pleases. The completion reminds us of the noble intention in choosing to create beauty in a world filled with those who choose to destroy. Perhaps it is a small thing, this ripple of art we effect upon others and on the air and light around us, these paintings we send out and mail out and hang on walls in cafes and galleries and post and pin and share in social media groups. We are the ocean of color, light and form, we are a multitude of artists now connected together, a chorus filling the void with the something fresh, something unique, something original. There is an energy to what we do, and it is a beautiful feeling. Freud might call it catharsis. Joseph Campbell called it bliss.

But to be an artist, is to know you are an artist. It is completely undeniable and it never leaves you, the desire to create. It is a duty, and even better, it is a privilege. It’s so important to surround ourselves with others who lift us up, and who do not tear us down. Art is intrinsic to who you are, and most artists are so empathetic. Artists should be here to strengthen one another in rough times, and to celebrate with one another in those joyful moments. Take care to guard that beautiful muse, that creative spirit that is uniquely, gorgeously, and undeniably you!

Have you ever felt discouraged and found something to inspire you as an artist, that one thing or person who helped and encouraged you to keep moving forward when you were ready to give up? Your words may be exactly what someone needs to here right now, so please share your heart and your story with me by leaving a comment on this post.

Join me for a workshop and get all the color you love!