Mean people
I met a bunch of them. Art Fairs are an excellent place to hear stuff you’d really rather not. Gallery visitors whisper — people at art fairs blurt stuff out. At one of my first shows in Naples FL, a lady passed my booth and announced that we don’t need any more “photocolors” in the world. Ouch. I still remember what she looked like. Another that comes to mind is the man who proclaimed “damn watercolorists, all they can paint is light”. I have to admit, I got better at spotting potential flamethrowers and controlling the conversation. Maybe too good at it.
But truthfully, I learned a lot from these people. Some I ignored because of obvious ignorance or attitude. Others didn’t understand my subject matter and I considered that a compliment. I did listen though — and I still do. The man who hated light :) helped me realize that as a watercolorist, content and message need to be my emphasis. Choosing a subject strictly to show off my technique would be empty — and exactly what I think he was talking about. That’s when I made the decision to study PAINTING, not just WATERCOLOR. And eventually, I learned how to paint without light and shadow as my main subject.
So along came my interest in casein and now my attempts to learn encaustic. So to the mean people out there — thank you. But just a hint…..don’t call me sweetie or hon. I let waitresses get away with it but it is condescending (and it effects their tip, believe me). I find any remark preceded with “little lady” is going to definitely rub me wrong. But I digress.
