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| Book Lover 4.5 x 6.5 Monotype with Colored Pencil Sold |
I’m almost all unpacked, and put away after the Thousand Oaks Artwalk last weekend. It was *hot* , but folks braved the high temperatures and came out to the show. I ate a lot of watermelon, got a sunburn, sold art, had lovely visits from friends and family, and I won a second place ribbon in the category of watercolors! Whoot-whoot! 🙂
Here’s a moment I’m pondering: The show is a fund raiser for the Conejo Valley Museum, and I donated art to their raffle. A young woman saw the woodcut I donated and came to my booth on Sunday to introduce herself. She explained that she was so moved by the image (At the Shore), she felt she just had to have it, so she bought several raffle tickets with high hopes of winning. I had another framed print of the woodcut edition in my booth, and I showed it to her. As she stood there, explaining why she loved it so much, she became visibly emotional. How is it that a little block of wood, carved & printed with a wooden spoon & ink – could make a person I’ve never met before feel such a swell of the heart? It’s already amazing that I’m privileged to make art every day, but then a five minute exchange with a complete stranger stuns me to overwhelming gratitude for this artful life I’m living.
When we gift or sell the work we make, it has the potential to expand a simple exchange into something joined & deeply reciprocal with other people. This is one of the benefits of selling your work directly, versus through a gallery or an agent, etc. The Do-It Yourself Artist works hard, but one of the many rewards is the opportunity for face to face engagement & communion with Art-Lovers. When a person you’ve never met before takes time to express how moved they are by something wrought with your own hands, it’s deeply encouraging, and weighty enough to be carried back into the studio and pinned to the Keep at It wall. What is your take-away when someone is very moved by a piece of your work? Please share your experiences in the comments.
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| My booth at Thousand Oaks Artwalk, sporting a yellow ribbon in the upper right corner. 🙂 |
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| A visit from my friend R.E. and one of his two beautiful dogs |
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| Watercolor demo/work in process at Thousand Oaks Artwalk |
Art Quote
What a queer thing touch is, the stroke of a brush. In the open air, exposed to wind, to sun, to the curiosity of people, you work as you can, you fill your canvas. Then however, you catch the real & the essential – that is the most difficult. But after a time you take up this study again & arrange your brush strokes in the direction of the objects – certainly it is more harmonious & pleasant to look at & you add whatever you have of serenity & cheerfulness.
~Vincent Van Gogh
What a queer thing touch is, the stroke of a brush. In the open air, exposed to wind, to sun, to the curiosity of people, you work as you can, you fill your canvas. Then however, you catch the real & the essential – that is the most difficult. But after a time you take up this study again & arrange your brush strokes in the direction of the objects – certainly it is more harmonious & pleasant to look at & you add whatever you have of serenity & cheerfulness.
~Vincent Van Gogh
@Barbara, I thought you would have great stories as a frequently commissioned portrait artist, and I see my assumptions were good. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Isn’t it an amazing link to humanity – this art-making? We are all so fortunate. xoxoxoxo
@ Dan – Thanks for stopping in and sharing. I would say that your experience of the posthumous pet portrait is even *more* moving. Bravo, my friend.
Hi Belinda,
I love this whole post, and the lovely image. Just today a friend told me about how she can see the moment I captured with her children every time she looks at the painting I painted years ago. That moved me. Doing portrait commissions, clients frequently laugh, or cry and hug me they are so pleased. That definitely goes on the keep going wall.
Love this post!
XOXOXO Barbara
What a moving post – I could picture the scene. I can imagine what she said – a mother/child story I imagine. It is a beautiful woodcut. I love “Book Lover” – it reminds me of my niece. And of course it is sold. 🙂
I have not had quite the experience you have had with your art. Once, though, I painted the treasured deceased dog of a friend. She and her mother have it hanging in a prominent spot in their living room. She tells me they look at it every day and love it. That is close.