Hi,
The three paintings here were entered in a show with Artist's Society Of Dearborn a couple of years ago. All were purchased by one collector.
Why all three?
When I met the man after the show, I asked him that.
I got a bit misty as he shared a touching story about his loving mom and how he and his brother had cared for her when she became unable to walk.
Art, for me, is about feeling something.
Each week, I spend some time learning from other artists. I can scroll past hundreds of works of art, briefly analyzing the artists' remarkable technical skill, but still come away unmoved.
I am regularly amazed at one young artist in particular on Instagram who is cranking out one technically sound sofa-sized still life painting after another.
And yet, while they are all pretty to look at and seem to sell fast, I see nothing to connect with emotionally. Of course, I recognize that just because I don't see it, it doesn't mean someone else won't.
I'll keep watching her though, because when she does find that emotional voice, she'll be unstoppable! I'll share her name then.
Ah, then there's Hillary Scott and Brent Cotton, who paint sunlit landscapes that make me want to cry. And Leslie Lewis-Sigler, who makes one see courageous grandmothers and favorite uncles in the intricate silver vessels and utensils she paints.
These three almost never create anything that doesn't move me.
And that's the one simple thing I come back to when I start paying too much attention to what's trending, agonizing over how my own work does not measure up, or painting what others think I should paint.
Like the artists I admire most, I simply want to paint the remembered things which move my own heart.
For therein lies the ability to move others.
Here are some of my past works which accomplished that, and are still being cherished by the collectors who were moved by them.
Enjoy!
