I don’t know much about art…

I look with a bit of envy at painters who sell their stuff online.  

People compliment my abstracts but I”m always a bit sceptical about their appreciation. I don’t tend to tell anyone that the huge painting over our leather couch was done by me, unless they say something about it.  But my partner in life and crime proudly announces that it was painted by me and then I start to squirm. Art is very subjective and friends feel they must be nice about something you’ve made even if it’s not their cup of tea.

The best comment I think I ever got about one of my paintings was from a professional art mover I had hired to hang it on a huge, high wall.  He stood back and admired the work, said it was beautiful and how perfect it was for the space.  I never did say it was mine!  I just grinned for the rest of the day.

Photographing artwork such as mine is very difficult.  I always get a glare or else it’s so dark that you can’t see the detail.  So how would I ever put it online?  I fantasize about entering a juried art show but I haven’t painted in more than a year and I don’t feel ready for that.  I don’t have enough of a portfolio.  And if my stuff is accepted, would an obligation to paint change the joy of it?  And if it’s not accepted, would it take the fun out of doing it for myself?  These are things a person asks oneself.  I have this luxury of waiting, for now, because I found I had a knack and a love for doing this kind of painting quite by accident.  It’s not a life’s goal or driving force.

Back to the artists who sell on the web.  First you’d need a good photographer.  Then, how do you price it when you’re not a master? I’ve seen scads of abstracts selling at extremely cheap starting prices on Ebay and boring landscapes that I think are totally overpriced, elsewhere.  It’s all very confusing.  For now, I think I’ll move a little closer to breaking out the paints and the easel and seeing what the muse feels like creating.  The rest can come – or not – in good time.