I used to draw all the time as a child. I would look around me and draw what I could see, the trees, my house, my family and friends. It came naturally, not because I’m “gifted” or “special” but because I was an observer. It was natural to take what I saw and create something with it. 

 

As I got older I was told that artists don’t make any money. They struggle and starve. It’s no way to make a living. So, I took another path, but I was continuously drawn back to this desire to create. I started painting, making abstract paintings that came from my own intuition and sense of play. I decided to go to art school where I learned rules and processes for creating art. I wasn’t playing anymore. I was getting grades, being told my work was either good or bad, right or wrong. I was told to make a portfolio to show to galleries so that they in turn could tell me my work was good or bad, right or wrong. This took the joy away. 

Now, coming back to my creative practice, and it is a practice, I realize that selling art isn’t being an artist. It’s making art. It’s taking a creative idea and building upon it. It’s an act. I live as an artist not because I sell art. I live as a creative person who sees the world in a creative way, always developing new ideas and bringing new things to the world.