So a nice thing has happened.
After many years of selling almost no prints, someone called me, out of the blue, and wants to buy a bunch of prints. I won’t tell the details just yet, it’s not final, I’m superstitious, etc.
But I will say that, aside from the financial part (which is nice, I gotta say) it’s an amazing affirmation that what I’ve been doing is right.
I make pictures for me. I make pictures as meditation, prayer, exercise. I make pictures to try to be better, to try to understand better.
I make pictures to say: LOOK at that! But also as a way to say: this is my world and it’s amazing.
Many years ago, I was chosen for an artist’s residency on Monhegan Island. I submitted my pictures and they said, yes, you deserve this. Go make pictures. No obligation, no responsibilities, just do what you need to do. That was an amazing moment in my life. And this feels similar.
There are some people, I know, who think I’m mercenary. The truth is, I am terrible about money. I’m terrible at caring about it, keeping track of it. I think it’s a nuisance.
I care about affirmation. Someone saying: what you do has value. Sometimes, that affirmation comes in a handshake or a smile. Sometimes, it comes in a check.
This time, the client wrote back:
“The prints came in and they look really great. I just love your work.”