Bringing Truth to Art: The Artist's Dilemma

This subject has been on my mind for the past few years since joining RRAFA. The club has provided many opportunities for getting my artwork seen by the public and with that comes concerns about painting commercially viable artwork. A lot of work goes into hanging art at a show so it is important to produce a well put together piece of artwork. And it’s kind of a big deal, at least to me, to see what is selling and what local people want as far as artwork for our area. And sometimes, I don’t think I have that. So what do I do? Shall I pander to the market or keep on making art that pleases my sensibilities? It’s a seesaw argument in my head that really bears no fruit. And thus art becomes a burden. I’ve read from many successful well known artists that you must make it a job that you get up and do on a daily basis and I’m not about that life, being retired and all. It’s a labor of love if anything and I don’t intend on getting up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready to paint by 8:00 a.m. I’m so done with working so art and painting is my reward for a lifetime of hard work at jobs that had nothing to do with painting or anything artistic.

So what to do? Circular arguments go round and round and, in the end, I must do what I do best, which is to be true to what I want to see. Color, fantasy, beauty. That’s all I really care about. And if I do that at the cost of selling a single painting ever in my life, I think that’s the path I choose. In that way, I bring my truth to art. I think most artists operate on that level as well and, if they sell, then they have reached someone’s heart out there and that is a blessing indeed.