A store owner said this to me the other day. "Do you want to be a starving artist forever? I know it goes against every grain in your body and makes you cringe, but get published, paint for the masses. Surrender to WALL ART"
It has been going over and over since he said it. Paint for the masses...
WALL ART. It isn't unique, you can buy it in home outfitters. it is often large beige splashes of abstract shades or trees with low horizons, or something graphic on a crappy stretched canvas or shitty frame. That's why it's cheap. it's boring.
I must admit, I have considered selling a 'decore' collection, where everything is really cheap and looks like this massively produced art. Just becuase if someone is willing to pay $300 for one at a store, I'd rather just paint it for you and you pay me the $300 b/c at least then it would be original and you would be supporting a local artist and not some mass big box store.
Paint for the masses... does it have to be boring? does it have to look cheap with fake paint splashes and stuff stuck to it to create fake texture? Most importantly, Does it have to be a sell out to the art market? i was surprised to come across probably the most talented artist I know, he is an incredibly respected gallery and commercial artist and is published by Canadian Art Prints. I would never expect him to surrender to Wall art. But he did it with style, the way I'd like to if I did it, he did it with uniqueness while still relating to a wide audience.
Ok I'll admit there is some cool stuff like this.
This to me is awesome, like some amazing sculptural installation. This is great Wall art. It is unique, it is special, and can you believe is mass produced?
So maybe it is just one series of everything you paint, maybe it is not everything. but maybe it helps you pay your bills and get you to the next month... Paint for the masses.. I need to express my heart, I think God will open up the doors for me to sell original art like he has been, but maybe there are other doors, unopened, unexplored. Maybe he will use me and my stuff to speak to the masses his awesomeness, though something unique, special but received by many.
I had a dream the other day, that I am in my house, standing in a room I never considered as a usable room, just a walking space, it is unswept, beige, with crappy flat weave carpeting, and a hanging light buLb with a bathtub chain pull cord. There were a few boxes, perhaps a small desk but mostly it was empty and underutilized. There was more to the dream but this room I think symbolized me and my art, my creativity. i am not utilizing it at the moment, i am not using it to it's fullest potential. I think that God designed that Room to be full of colour, beautifully organized with gorgeous decore, an easle and drafting table, books to the ceiling, a beautiful bed, with lush fabrics. It is meant to be a room full of life, luxurious and purposeful.
Paint for the masses. I need to sit on it. I would love to paint for him and speak to the masses. So how do we do it.. maybe not such a cope out like I originally felt. but perhaps an excellent opportunity.
