A painting of mine, “Front Porch”, 11x14 oil, was recently chosen as one of the 10 best of the decade in a Tenth Anniversary edition of Plein Air Magazine. I was floored. No humble bragging here. I was floored. Honored of course, but taken aback for a very specific reason. I had initially considered the painting not very good.
I painted it in 2013 on location in a plein air competition in Richmond, Virginia. The reason I did not consider it very good is that it did not sell immediately. Perfect, spectacular paintings sell immediately right? So cut to 2021 and there it was, in a feature article alongside some of the best painters who I’ve admired greatly for a long time. At the risk of bragging just a little (LOL), the painting holds up! That is to say, have you ever seen a painting from your past hanging on a wall or in publication…and cringed? I have! Perception changes and so does an artist’s style. “Front Porch”, though, while not the best painting ever in the history of ever, is a sweet little ditty that came from the heart.
The point of my musings here is that at the time, the deflation I felt because the painting didn’t sell immediately (took a long time, actually) was self-doubt and fear talkin’. Those competitions can get the best of your self-esteem. After a while, I looked at it and thought, “Dangit, I like it!”. Eventually I submitted it to Plein Air Magazine to be showcased in a plein air article in 2014.
I am reminded of a delightful conversation I recently had with one of my gallery owners and friends, Lisa Fox at Leiper’s Creek Gallery. I was telling her the aforementioned self-doubt story about how I had initially not thought the painting was that great because it didn’t sell. She stopped in her tracks and said to me very intently, “That’s not how it works”. She went on to explain that how it works is…"paintings get connected with the correct owners”. That one statement suddenly changed the way I look at my skills and the way I approach my art. Painting what inspires you with authenticity is always the way to go, and phooey on slow sales and self-doubt!
If you have ever been on a similar roller coaster as the one I was on in 2013 (and frankly, for some years after), I offer this:
Do not worry about sales.
Do not worry about perfection.
Do not worry about kudos.
Just paint.