Blog

The truly intrinsically motivated person does what needs to be done, just because it needs to be done. Period. No prodding or pushing is necessary. This is what my husband, who is a business owner, has done for years. This is what I have done, as well. We are two peas in a pod in regards to this. Intrinsic motivation is what keeps artists producing without any guarantee for profit. How do we keep going? We go on because we have to.

We respond to a scene, design a still life, or produce a portrait because of the beauty that we see and feel compelled to create and share with others. Artists find the beauty in the ordinary and the extraordinary.

I know of very few artists that crank out paintings just to pay the bills. Everyone needs to pay bills, and this tough economy doesn’t make it easy to pay them. However, very few of the artists that I know compromise their art. Instead of reducing prices, they create smaller paintings that command a lower price. Some artists take outside jobs in order to pay the bills so that they can keep producing the art that they love.

I see hundreds of artists’ work online, at art shows and in museums.  There are thousands more artists out there that I haven’t yet had the pleasure to view their work. There are a lot of us out here creating without assurance of income from what we produce.  I collect other artists’ work as I can. Artwork that touches my soul makes me feel good every time I look at it and I don’t grow tired of looking at it, either.

When artists create, they have a hope, large or small, that they can connect with someone so strongly that the viewer feels driven to part with their hard earned money to buy the artist’s work. A few artists acquire a patron who buys so many of their creations that those artists are free to focus solely on producing artwork, but those patrons are far and few between. The rest of us keep creating, not knowing if anyone else but ourselves will like our work, let alone find a collector who will pay for the artwork to be part of their collection.

The little study with this blog, Autumn at the watershed, was one of those treasurable moments that I feel lucky to have observed. As the sun was hanging low in the autumn sky, the light was hazy, the colors were soft, the moment was transitory and the red leaves were glowing. How could I not share this fleeting scene with others? It makes me feel good to look at it. That’s what drives me to paint, to share the beauty that I see, with others.

I feel very honored that people from all over the world are looking at my artwork and reading my blogs. I won’t ever know the reason why they choose to view the paintings that they do, but just knowing that people want to take some of their precious time to share my vision of beauty is very humbling. I never expected this when I made my FASO website. Thank you for your support.