This is another one of those paintings I started a while ago and for some reason I lost interest and left it in my unfinished paintings file. I hope someone finds some pleasure from this painting.As an artist I attempt different subjects and start off very enthusiastically and half way through get distracted and start something else that appeals to me more at the time.
The current painting is then put on the back burner until I get the urge to carry on. I suppose being a woman it is also my prerogative to change my mind at the drop of a hat.
About a year ago I sent Graham on a mission to present my portfolio to various galleries. I will be honest I had tried previously on my own and lost my confidence due to the attitude and snotty remarks from some of the curators and managers of these galleries. I left their premises feeling rather inadequate and probably even a failure as an artist.
I am not going to generalise and say they are all like that, but there are many mean spirited snobs who are not artists themselves but pretend they are the experts and the only judges of what is good and bad art.
Fortunately Graham's faith in my ability never wavered and he took a day off work and did a 400 km round trip with my portfolio in hand presenting it at every Gallery he could find along the way. Sadly his car was wrecked on the way home when someone rear ended him at high speed and the euphoria of his success was somewhat dampened as a result.
He eventually arrived home having left a dozen or more of my paintings at various galleries on a consignment basis. Shortly after that we went to New Zealand for three months to see my daughter.
When we returned, the paintings at the galleries were all but forgotten, that is until two weeks ago when we decided to call some of the galleries to see if any had been sold. I must again be honest I did not have the courage to phone and see if any paintings had been sold. I just felt they might say they had tried to sell them and would I please come and remove them from their establishments as they were not good enough to sell.
To my amazement all but one had been sold and there were a few welcome cheques waiting for me. They had tried in vain to contact me while I was in New Zealand and eventually they gave up. What makes it even worse is that most of the painting were sold within a month or so of leaving them at the galleries and those galleries wanted more of my work.
The cheques were not earth shattering amounts, but the paintings did sell for way more than I ever imagined they would. This has restored my confidence in my ability and given my battered ego a much needed lift.
I suppose the lesson here is never give up, I cannot help thinking how many more might have been sold had I not bowed to the humiliating comments of a few pricks who don't have a kind word for a new kid on the block.
I am planning another trip to New Zealand in the next few weeks and will probably be away for three to six months. Most of my art is there and I am going to make a concerted effort to see if I can get some of my art into galleries over there. This time I will however leave a forwarding address and contact numbers with the local galleries who have taken more of my work.
