After building up my art practice again though 2018 I decided it was time to test the waters and see if anybody other than my friends and family would be interested in the art I was making. Magically an open call popped up in my Instagram feed for a local gallery. The theme was "Under The Influence" meaning they wanted to know the influence behind the piece you were submitting.
As a kid my parents had art around the house and a few framed prints by Tamara De Lempicka. Growing up I absolutely admired her stylized approach to the figure and the intrigue and richness her paintings depicted.
I knew exactly what I would paint for the show. There was just one week until the deadline, and even though I had never painted a large 36x36 oil painting that fast, in fact it was only the second oil painting I had EVER painted, but I decided to go for it because what did I have to lose.
It was summertime and my husband had taken my kids to go visit his family leaving me only to fend for myself. So I got to work painting every day all day that week. Friday at 5 PM was the deadline and I WASN'T FINISHED!!! Too bad I told myself...take some pictures and submit it anyway, I got it in just before the deadline.
And then I waited and waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity until one day Congratulations you’re part of the group show! showed up in my inbox. I was thrilled, I was shocked, I was so excited...a gallery curator had chosen my piece!
They put my piece in the window and when I showed up for opening night it was already SOLD!
Next time, I'm going to share how I kept my momentum going.
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