I love networking on Facebook purely for friendship, but if there were ever a business or product to endorse, it would be prints that I produce from an art collection of my own. Art has always been a matter of the heart for me. I am an emotional artist and I have been told many times, that my personal emotions seem to be reflected on past art work. Should I ever come up with a collection of five new excellent pieces, worthy of being sold to the public, I would produce prints of some of my copyrighted work and market it.
What is most important to me, is that what I do comes from my heart and not because I am in some hurry to prove what a wonderful inventive or innovative artist I am. First of all that has already been done before and many times over. I would not be the first. There are brilliant and amazing artists out there with great mastery and skill. Second,without sounding boastful which is not my intent, I have been aware for most of my life that I am capable of being a decent artist. I am able to render what I see, but I’m also able to render from my imagination scenes, people and things that I have never before seen, so trying to prove to someone else, what I already know at this phase in my life, would feel a bit silly.
I think feeling pressured to prove anything to anyone, is a rather absurd thing, it is not fun and is pointless. Besides, some people will love the work of one artist and others will dislike it. People have different tastes and make choices based on their likes and dislikes. The world of art is what it is.
I remember when my work as a student, was exhibited at the Art Student’s League last year by a GREAT artist (Nelson Shanks, http://www.nelsonshanks.com/), I was so excited that I produced this quick blurry video of my exhibit and that must have scared the willies out my mentor and fellow artists, after all I am still a student. Looking back it was a bit of a zealous thing for me to do, although my friends were delighted to see I’d been exhibited.
I am only a student and this is true. However, I am still a student because I choose to be, at a stage when there are people who, whether they ready or not for the big time, would stop taking classes and start producing and selling their art, but honestly, I think it is important to study art and painting is possible forever.
A lifetime of studying, even when one believes one one might be a great artist, is a wonderful, life enriching experience, for many reasons. – 1) The learning of art itself for one. One is exercising the ability to remain teachable and open to criticism.. 2) Then there are the amazing and helpful instructors who teach in this wonderful tranquil learning environment 3) One gets to be critiqued by fellow student artists 4) One gets to enjoy developing a lifetime wonderful friendships with people that one has Art in common with, if nothing else. It cannot get any better than that. Artists are a huge part of this the wonderful art community.
I believe I heard Nelson Shanks share that with us at his Studio last year. I recall him saying something like “I too, continue to learn” and this is an artist, who has been compared to Michaelangelo and who has painted heads of state, princesses and royalty. By keeping one’s feet on the ground, first, one doesn’t make a fool out of his or her teachers and mentors, by putting out a mediocre product and second, when you know you are ready to produce and market art, you will know that the time has come. Second, you feel a bit more teachable. I am so happy to feel that I remain open to learning. Dan Thompson our instructor at the ASL is also another amazing artist and I love his style of teaching.
I don’t advise artists to hold back and not start collections and marketing their work. If they choose to do that, it is an individual thing, but for me that time just hasn’t come yet. I want to study a bit, maybe take my teacher’s advice and spend a month in Florence, Italy or France, study and paint more and take in the essence of what truly makes fine art.
I want to be great, but don’t know if I will ever be. Still, great artwork or not, what is important to me is that the love for my work is written all over my art collection and that people actually feel and see that love, when they see every expression or the strokes that I put on paper or canvass.
Some day, I dream seeing one of my art pieces help give an answer to someone who needs that missing puzzle piece, or would help someone to make a connection to that great someone higher than themselves, or that it would give others “Aha!” moments! Will that happen? I don’t know myself. 
I am still an artist in training. http://www.studioincamminati.org/
Whether I produce one, two or three good pieces, or whether they auction or not for public display is not what is important, to me Art is a Matter of the Heart.
I’m taking the summer off, but will keep practicing during the summer and in September I will be right back at ASL and take some weekend workshops at Studio Incamminati.
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