oneness
I fell in love with drawing the moment I freed myself from the concept of lines. Being free to move the pen as I wished, beauty became a construct released from the generalizations and generic ideas of my own criticism.
Where do you put your gift to the world?
At first, I kept it under my bed like leftover wrappers of mental thought. Although my friends saw my amusement, they continually reminded me to value my gift. To have the courage to create a relationship of value with my art. But again, how does the artist set the value of their art? Their passion? And what if you gave it away freely in exchange for relationship?
To offer a gift to those who value the beauty of original art pieces, I sat in parks across the country in the summers of 2018 and 2019. The goal was to offer art to those who found themselves in a piece of my art. Exchanging the currency of beauty and art for that of relationship.
I wanted to start a dialogue between my art and the community. In this conversation, I found the transformative power of the arts as a form of life’s language.
Many times while handing out my art freely, I was “scolded” by fellow artists, admirers, friends, family and buskers. My handwritten sign, “Free art,” bewildered many; fueled dissidence with others. “How can you give away your art for free? What about its value?”
busking for relationship
Drawing is a snapshot of a moment in time, while painting is a longer conversation with the world.
I offer my art to expand what is experienced as beautiful by asking myself, “What can I do to make my art beautiful, and in turn, make the world beautiful?”
Some of the more vocal objections to not selling my art were:
People will expect more free art in the future. Free art is counterproductive.
Your best intentions will be marred by unwanted outcome.
Free art means bad art.
There is no benefit.
You are devaluing the importance of creative work.
No one appreciates things they get for free.
I took all these comments to heart and reworked my mission statement, and in part, my life. Now, I paint to raise money for non-profits. It is my wish to use every moment I can to create the value of beauty and bring it to you.