…or go home.
At a recent workshop, a young artist asked me what she should paint to get into a gallery in Jackson Hole. I was perplexed by the question; she was asking specifically whether she should paint a bison, or a bear, or something else.
Her question really needed answers in several different dimensions, so here goes:
- First, you gotta paint what you love if your work is to be exciting to both you and collectors. As we’ve talked about in this blog just recently, animal artists tend to be completely bonkers about animals, which is A Good Thing. I’m so inspired by my reference material every time I go through and look at all the beautiful horses, the big bison, the lithe cats, the pouncing coyotes, the corvids with chutzpah and the swans with grace, that I can hardly choose what to paint next.
- Secondly, doing one painting of a particular subject to get into one particular gallery almost certainly would not work. Galleries want to see a body of work with some consistency in style, showing knowledge of your subject. (They also want to know that you’ll be a good business partner with them - so be sure you know how to handle framing, consignments, collectors, shipping, paperwork, etc etc etc).
- If - like this artist - you’re very early in your career and still not sure what or how you want to paint, then take the time to develop and grow your skills. Compare your work to the best; be self-critical.
- And finally, we come back to something we’ve touched on before in this blog: have a vision, have something you really want to say about the subject matter, and pursue that with passion.
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