Drying the Sails, 16x20, oil on linen
I am often reminded that as a painter “You are only as good as your last painting”. Perhaps that is the single best reason artists experience so much self doubt. We all work very hard to produce consistently good pieces. The best of us are perpetual students, accepting the fact that no matter how much we learn there will always be more to understand. The hand is slower to catch on and catch up to the eye....we learn something new long before we are able to reproduce the skill.
We crave concrete results that we are making headway. We assess our success through sales, acceptance into significant shows, and awards if we are lucky enough to get into shows. This past year, I have been fortunate to be juried into some prestigious shows, The American Impressionist Society”s 14th National, the 44th National Exhibition of Women Artists of the West (2 pieces), Laguna Plein Air shows.“Less is More” and “Best of Plein Air”, and Mid Atlantic Plein Air painter’s“Paint Annapolis”, to name a few. I have had a solo and group show with galleries that sold well, taught classes and workshops, demonstrated my techniques, and most importantly, I am enjoying my work.
Recently, I have also received rejections from shows and events I wanted to participate in. My entries for these rejections were paintings that were juried into some of the events mentioned above or even pieces that have won awards at other recent shows. These rejections, while very disappointing, are part of being an artist. It is important to remember that each juror has his own set of expectations for the show he or she is jurying. Not getting into an event usually doesn’t mean your work is bad...it just means that it is not right for that particular show. A painting that wins an award today, might not be accepted into a show tomorrow. It only takes one collector to like your work to make a sale....an unsold art work is not bad....it just hasn’t found that one collector yet. So while we all need reassurance to have the confidence we need to face that new white canvas each day, we are as good as we can be on any particular day.... and that is all we need to remember!!!!!!!!!!!!
