Hello, Is There anybody Out There?

Just nod if you can hear me...

Bad 'Pink Floyd' joke, which doesn't matter, since no one reads these things, anyway.

I had a thought not too long ago. I decided that I would no longer refer to myself as a 'fine artist'. Somewhere down the road, I decided I no longer liked the term. It might have started when I went back to school for my MFA. A new way to design, see, and think was opened up to me, and it didn't require gallery walls, canvas, paints or brushes. I realized I no longer wanted to be a gallery artist, the thing I thought I wanted to be for most of my life. I never really considered myself a 'painter', either, just an artist and designer that happened to use paint as the medium in which I created.

The shift in my art thinking began pre-grad school, actually. To make a long story short, a gallery I had worked with for a long time turned out to be a bad situation, professionally and financially. The situation ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth, and I never really regained my trust for the art gallery industry. In hind sight, I never really liked the culture of schmoozing with prospective collectors and buyers; having to sell some bullshit story about the art that never really mattered to begin with. My philosophy about art is either you like it or you don't. It resonates with you on some metaphysical plane, or it doesn't. Don't buy art thinking it is going to be a long term investment. Buy it because it brings you joy and its presence makes your life better.

I've thought long and hard about this, and I'm now considering myself semi-retired from making art for other people. I don't have the drive or want to make art for others. It's only recently I started to really make art for myself. Wether anyone sees it or not, it doesn't matter. This one's for me. Things may change down the road (again), and I have to open for that change (if it happens). I'm lucky to be in a position in my career and life to make this decision and not feel trapped by the need to pay bills with my art. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm curious to see where the creative road takes me.

Anyhoo, this will probably be the last transmission from the studio for 2024. Take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you in 2025 sometime.