Would you create if no one was watching?
This question lingers in my mind as I have resisted the pressure to show up, post, and share. My process is immersive and unpredictable. Revealing on social media, what is not fully formed introduces unwanted pressure and influence does create a place where I play, interpret, and add to the conversation. For all these reasons, there is a place for quiet reflection, thoughtful exploration, and authentic expression.
It’s not that I don’t want to share or that I am not influenced by the world—quite the contrary. An artist should not, and does not, live fully apart from society. Our highest purpose is to further society.
But I don’t want to contribute to the meaningless noise. When I speak, I want to be of substance. Until recently, I have been largely lurking on platforms, following, liking, and learning so much from all of you. I kept my little secret close, guarding it until it was ready, until I was ready to send it off into the world and set it free. Not to be judged by others, which I am sure it will be, but to be shared.
This work represents a transformation in my life and my evolution. Recently, my health imposed limitations on how I create. So I started creating in a different way, which opened up the challenge of exploring composition and emotion in abstract form. I will always paint representationally as well, and this new direction has opened up possibilities that didn’t exist before.
As the work evolves, I feel quite vulnerable in sharing it. Those who feel it, resonate with it, and are inspired by it, I hope will enjoy it. For me, this is the measure of great art. It does not need a degree or validation from those who decide, but rather its ability to communicate something of value and truly touch another.