Awed by Encouragement

I started selling my paintings when I was 19 years old at the local art fair in Skokie, Illinois. Showing my heart felt work to the public was difficult. I felt exposed. “What if they didn’t like my work,” I thought. “Does that mean that they don’t like me?” That tells you how much of the artist pours into the painting. We are one with our work. If you like my work, you are liking the inner emotions of me…. At least that is what we artists feel.

Flash forward 40+ years. We have Facebook and Blogs, newsletters and Twitters. The whole world is now one huge network of artists cheering each other on. Now our paintings can be seen in every country in the world in a matter of minutes. News flashes around the world and so do the comments of support and encouragement.

I had that experience again tonight.

“So, What’ll You Have?” 22.5 x 30 oil

About 3 pm this afternoon. I found out that my oil painting, “So, What’ll You Have” had been juried into the American Women Artists National Show. There were 1547 entries and only 68 were accepted. I was (and still am) thrilled. So, I posted it on Facebook. That was 10 hours ago and the comments have been pouring in from all over the world. Artists and patrons, friends and strangers have been looking and letting me know how my painting affects them. So…. Exposed…..yes, we are as artists, but never before in the history of the world have artists been able to cheer each other on like this. I am awed. Yes, we can see this every day and every hour on Facebook. People thrilled and talking about it, but that doesn’t make it any less amazing.

Thank you all for those wonderful comments.

They went straight to my heart and will stay there!