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I've been going through images of work, covering many years, when I came across a watercolor of The Barnacle, a restaurant/bar in Marblehead, Massachusetts.  We had made a special trip out to Marblehead, because it was one of the places I'd missed on previous trips to Boston.  It was a crisp, autumn day, with a brisk wind off the water.  A few sailboats were out on the water, but I had to shiver at how COLD it must be out there!  Something about this place, this little community restaurant from the 1940s, spoke to the flavor of the neighborhood, the customs so different from those I was raised with here in the South.  Actually, it reminded me of the legendary "Cheers"...where everyone knows your name.  Outsiders really did stand out!  But kindness abounds and we were welcome all the same. If you are ever in the northland, and you happen near this place -- enjoy a cup of chowder and maybe a lobster roll! 

http://www.thebarnaclerestaurant.net/

This season has brought a great time of reflection on my part -- what am I doing with my life, what do I WANT to do with my life, what impact am I making as an artist and a member of society.  There are volumes written about this subject, and if you haven't questioned yourself at some point in life on these issues, you must be sleeping!

I began my art trek over thirty years ago now, and looking back, it is a wonder to see how one thing led to another, especially at times when I didn't know what to do.  Staying true to my art, working diligently on hundreds of paintings a year, earnestly learning all I could on my own, taking advice when it was offered (and useful), led to one year, then another.  There is so much to learn, to create, and to experience, that it often is overwhelming.  So why do it?  Why put yourself and your work out there?  

At first, it was for recognition, and I quickly learned that recognition is all fine and good, but it doesn't buy a brush or tube of paint.  My first real sale was of a huge watercolor tulip, framed in a poster frame, for $60.  You would have thought I had won a Nobel Prize. In the early years, I had shows that didn't sell a single thing, and there were shows that I had enough sales to make a little profit.  There were times I had the luxury of studio time, but not the skills I needed to fulfill my vision.  Then I had the skills to fulfill but not the time.  Over the past years, I have seen my market solidify, and my sales to match my effort.  My painting life has become pretty good.

So now, I "do it for the mortgage", as well as for myself.  I've found a niche that seems to appeal to a wide audience, and I get to take a little "mental vacation" into my painting every new work.  But even if that were to go away tomorrow, as Jimmy Buffett says "I would somehow adjust to the fall" and I would still create.  My soul demands it, my mind is consumed with it.  It is my passion, and with every new work, I can share a bit of that part of me with a wider world.  Why do it?  Because I have to, because I need to, and because I love to.