Art, Grapefruit, and Connection

The Wishing Well | 24 x 30 oil, Private Collection

A collector friend who happens to live in town asked me to bring some new works by his place a couple of weeks ago.  Above his kitchen table hangs this painting.  When he bought it several years back, he asked me to put an extra coat of varnish on it.  “I like grapefruit,” he explained with a smile.  “It tends to squirt.”

It’s hard to describe what an honor it is when someone chooses to make a painting part of their home.    This guy likes grapefruit, and he likes my painting — hanging right over his breakfast table so he can enjoy it every morning. 

Visiting Jack reminded me why I paint.  It’s about giving a gift to the viewer.  That connection is, of course, a gift to the artist also.

If somebody enjoys your work, be encouraged.  If they have chosen to live with it, (even a reproduction of it), as part of their daily life, you have achieved the ultimate honor for an artist.

Somebody needs the art you are about to make.  Keep going…