Over the years I have accumulated many wonderful treasures throughout my haunts in thrift stores, flea markets, & antique stores. Mostly I am interested in things that have a well loved feeling to them---maybe it has a crack or the paint is chipping or fading. I like that it has survived its journey from perhaps several owners or maybe just one owner that truly treasured it. Sometimes I turn these treasures into unique art pieces and it continues its journey on a different level. I wonder what people will think one day about that object long after I am gone. This a store I owned and closed this year. It was jam packed with really neat stuff from vintage clothing, art, antiques, and just wonderful stuff! It was called The Dime Store Diva.

Reply

Their was a period of time when I was able to support myself as an artist. I wasn't by any means rich or famous but I sold enough to pay the bills and since I was frugal and careful with my money it worked out well. When I moved to Tennessee, the market for my kind of art became difficult to pursue from this distance and I have struggled to find my path again. I have given a lot of thought to the question of how important is it to sell one's art versus creating it just for the simple act of creating. I enjoy sharing my art with others and derive satisfaction when people are drawn to my work, but at the same time the inability or unwillingness of those same people to actually pull out their hard earned money to buy my art leaves me feeling questioning my self worth as an artist. I want very much to create just for the sake of creating and not bother with selling my art, yet their is always that nagging feeling that is difficult to put aside.

Reply

This morning I awoke thinking about how difficult it is to know how other people view us vs how we perceive our own selves. Do they see that critical self always lurking in the shadows? Can they see the secrets I try to harbor, like I'm not as nice as you might think I am. Can they see something positive I'm not able to acknowledge in myself? Sometimes I think I would like to crawl out of my physical self and see how other really see me, but would I have the courage?

Reply

This is my buddy Snuggles from New Orleans. He and his companion Dusty came to live in Tennessee after they were evacuated from Katrina. He is awesome and quite handsome as you can see. He is back in New Orleans now. I'm sure he is cruising his old haunts. I sure miss him.

Reply

I find myself spending a lot of time on this site looking at other people's work and wondering about where they are from and what motivates them to be artists. It is interesting to note how diverse artists can be in their styles of art and yet be drawn to a completely different genre.

Reply

Thanks to all of the folks leaving comments on my art. It's a good feeling to have this sense of "community."

Reply

Wow! I am really liking cruising on this art site. What an amazing collective of talented artists! Blessings to the people who created this wonderful place to share my art with others. I would like to find more artists who do religious art, especially of a folk art nature.

Reply

I recently found artwanted.com. I've been an artist all of my life and have indulged in many art mediums. My most favorite genre is folk art "the art of the people." Frida Kahlo is one my favorite artists and I'm also influenced by latin colors and flavors. I'm originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico where I worked primarily with religious santos (saints). Since moving to TN I continue to do santo images as well as other folk art and in the last couple of years have also been working with digital collage paintings, which I will list at some time on this site.

Reply