There are many sides to being an artist.  The life of an artist is definitely not the traditional 9-5 life.  Even though most successful artists, myself included, do keep quite a religious working schedule. It is at times solitary, testing and lonely, and at other times social, rewarding and extremely connecting.

I stand in my studio working day after day -  mostly alone.  Sometimes battling my demons, wondering if anyone will see what I see. Will understand the vision I have been creating day after day and night after night.  Sometimes creating things I need to create but not sure who else would resonate with the work. Just knowing I need to create it.  

And I will admit, that at times people who love me dearly will Not get immediately what I am up to. They need to see with their own eyes the finished product or group of paintings before they totally understand it.  But sometimes they surprise me, and show Me a vision I was not able to stand far enough away from to comprehend.  To show me that these pieces I was simply doing for myself, that I  felt would not connect with anyone Do in fact connect.  So much so that they, my dear friends, want what I just painted and could I make 3 more. 

And then I get out of my studio.  Sometimes to meet other artists who live in the same crazy visual world, and I feel not so alone.  And not so much a visual being in a sometimes very analytical world  A little more certain that my vision is good and that all is right in my world.  Or I meet with various business and gallery owners, people I respect and admire, who I partner and work with and am once again silently, secretly relieved when they too see my vision and want to partner with me to share and spread that vision to more people and places.

And so it is not until I let myself out of my studio and away from what many artists call the “art grind” that I get to experience the amazing vibrant life that is also that of an artist.

There’s the “glamourous” side of on-camera interviews, my work being used on sets as backdrop, and having my art hung in hip, fun and even breathtaking events and locales.  There’s the “fine art” side of having shows in respected galleries, hung in a museum, and being in some of the most respected and well known art fairs in Southern California.  

And then there’s the “people” side. I’m blessed to live in a place where people from all over the world come to live and vacation. So meeting people, hearing their stories, seeing their reactions to a certain piece of art that speaks to them is really fun and connecting.  And seeing that piece leave with them, is so cool as I am once again filled with gratitude at their excitement over the piece and the connection it has found with them.  And when they come back or write to tell me where they have hung their art and how much they love it, or I see pictures of it in their home, I feel so lucky to be able to add color and art to their world.  And so happy that they were impacted so much they shared their experiences with me.

And then there’s the side that can take my breath away and fill me with such gratitude and awe, it’s hard to explain.  When someone can look at a series of smaller more abstract pieces and tell me the exact emotion I felt when painting each one.  Or when a Mom stops in front of my booth with her young daughters, and points to my female series and says “See - there is nothing to be ashamed of.  The female body is Beautiful.”  These experiences humble me and make all the physical labor and “grind” of setting up a show so very worth it.  Because I know my message, the reason I put brush to paper or canvas is connecting and finding meaning.  And that, takes my breath away.

So thank you to everyone who has been and continues to be a part of my artist experience.  You are what make the difference between an artist, sitting in her studio expressing her ideas of what makes life beautiful - into more than a solitary expression. You make it into a shared experience and collective understanding of the beauty in life and the world.

Thank you for stopping by my site.  Send me an email to say Hi or if you would like to have one of my pieces for your collection.