To be dependent on
others – one of the unfortunate burdens of many artists. Whether it is for commercial success or
the satisfaction of having one’s art accepted by critics and viewers, the
artist must depend on the approval of others.
For some artists this
results in desperate attempts to create only the work that appeals to his or
her audience and/or market, no matter how far removed it is from their own
creative interests. They are
willing to paint to sell or to please the critics.
Not all artists succumb
to this dependency in such an extreme manner; they remain true to their own
creative inspirations with little or no compromising with these external
pressures, doing all that they can to succeed on their own terms.
But I suspect it is the
rare individual who remains totally independent of the acceptance of others,
commercially or otherwise. Even if
they create or perform to their own standards and satisfaction, the desire to
reach out to others is always there.
I create art because I
have to…it is what I am and what I do.
It is one the things that defines me. Over the years I have enjoyed a fair degree of commercial
success, never enough to support me but always a necessary part of my
income. Fortunately most of
what I enjoy painting has broad appeal so for the most part I am able to “paint
for myself” and not for others.
The key words here are for the
most part; dealing with galleries usually requires some acquiescence to
their needs, however slight or significant they may be. In the end, like so many things in
life, it is all about compromise, finding that comfortable balance between the
opposing forces.
I feel fortunate to have
found this comfortable place between painting for others and painting for
myself. However, in neither case
am I totally independent because of my need to have the work seen; I don’t
consider my work complete until others have seen it, even if it is only a
single individual.
And in the spirit of this dependency, here is a view of a painting in progress:
Detail
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