Our family visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York years ago. The experience was quite overwhelming. I remember turning a corner, seeing the far wall covered with a large Van Gogh, and feeling like I had just been hit by a bus emotionally. I looked around to see if anyone else was feeling the same way and saw that my daughters and my wife had the same reaction. We were almost speechless.Jackson Pollock did the same thing to us. His work towered over you and made you feel like you had never seen real art before. This was art that changed culture. Who would have ever expected that kind of visceral reaction to paint on a canvas? And I felt the same years later when we visited a modern art gallery in Paris.
Original art has that effect on you. It isn't just amusing or interesting; it grabs you by the heart and squeezes.
Art prints are a poor substitute. They fail to duplicate that unique artistic experience. In fact, they are so far away from that original experience that they are not really art at all but more like wallpaper. Blame Salvidor Dali for art prints. He dreamed the idea up so he could sell hundreds of copies of his work in order to finance his addiction to prostitutes and drugs. Look what he started. WalMart art.
I would suggest to anyone thinking about making even a minor investment in art that buying authentic works from a local artist is light years ahead of bringing home a printed copy. For two reasons. Quality art has an emotional impact that can't be duplicated. And you're supporting a local artist -not a printing company in China (yes, that's where the work is going.)
My daughter, Shanna, has been artistically gifted from the time she was a sprout. We always encouraged her art, as parents do, but as she got older we were careful to add that an art career was a very tough reality. Garrets and lofts and no-heat being the staple of the struggling painter. But she had a different idea. She believed she could find a way to do what she loved and still make a good living.
So true to her nature, instead of partying on weekends like most of her friends, she was at home or at the cottage painting canvases sometimes 12 hours a day, often seven days a week, learning new techniques and trying out new media. She painted countless canvases looking for just that right combination of image and impact before she began to make significant sales. Eventually she built a detailed web site (learning all the programming and graphic techniques on her own), began using Facebook and Twitter to promote her work as well as a number of other internet tools and sites.
She was relentless. And slowly she began to build a global fan base of people who loved her work. (Examples of her artwork on this page: Tulips, Elephant Face, Mother Earth's Branches.) It is harder today to be a successful artists then ever - beside being skilled creatively you need social media skills, web building knowledge, delivery savvy, great communication to buyers, customer service skills and even packing knowledge. Shanna has all of these in spades. She absolutely deserves her success.
Last year she sold over 300 original paintings to buyers all over the world. Her paintings hang in business offices, new homes, vacation retreats and professional boardrooms. A phenomenal accomplishment. She is currently in the top 5% of successful businesses on the sites she uses to promote her work online and she now mentors others in how to be successful.Here is just a fraction of the feedback she has received.
"I love the paintings. The pictures do not do the paintings justice. They are beautiful ... especially in person. Thank you Shanna." March 1st, 2011
"The painting is amazing." Feb 3, 2011
"This is just beautiful ... we are quite excited to put this up in our new home as the center piece in our living room." Feb 1, 2011
"Absolutely perfect. This is one talented artist." Dec 18, 2010
Now to the point of this blog. As the proud father it really hurts to hear the comments she often gets from well-meaning friends that she is 'mass producing' art. Look up mass production on Wikipedia -"The production of large numbers of standardized parts ... on an assembly line." A pretty demeaning comment. Nothing could be a crueler dig to someone doing what they are passionate about. Or people who have made reference to the kind of kitsch art created in factories in Mexico where dozens of people crank out hundreds of copies of bad landscape art. Shanna creates original works, is very prolific, and puts enormous care and attention into every work. No two paintings are the same. In fact, she is constantly experimenting with new ideas, new subjects, new methods and media. I am amazed by her creativity and work ethic.
Shanna! I am very proud of what you are achieving through a a ton of hard work and creative thinking. Yes, I love you like crazy. That goes without saying. But I also respect your art. You have taught me a lot, way more than you ever learned from me when you were younger.
To learn more check out her work. Go to Etsy.com and search for Shannacreations.
Her Proud Dad.
