Believe it or not, I smiled at him and asked if he was willing to pay back a percentage of the income he made 5 years ago, then reminded him that gas prices, food (not to mention his ego) are at all time highs.
The value of a piece of art is mostly found in the things you can't see in it, the rough sketches, experiments, countless paintings that came before, and unfinished works, as well as the color, brushes, studio, canvas, stretchers and frames, and in my case wire, sand, paper and paste, spent throughout the hours no, the lifetime it took to bring that work into the physical world.
Last month I blogged about a piece I hoped to finish that did not make it in the show in Columbus. Instead I finished a set of shoes I had dreamed of creating in Warhol style, each having six surfaces over which six colors were rotated.
The artist reception is this weekend, always a little awkward moving from studio isolation to gallery party, but I'm feeling a little celebratory after taking 18 months of work up there in a rent-a-van. They say the stock market is a speculative investment. I think being an artist beats most investments, it pays in diverse ways, the best of which is creative fulfillment. Unable to get to Columbus? Some of the work, and more show dates are online here. Hope you're well!
An early shot of the "Fashoenistas" in progress (from upper left) Hot Heels, Melting, Dipping In, Hammer, Kick-off, and Summertime. Copyright C. Pic Michel 2012, all rights reserved
