Ten years.  10,000 hours.  The time needed to make a splash.  I’m beginning to believe there is truth to that.

Open Studios 2o19 ended well.  Three large paintings and a handful of small paintings found new homes.

I was beginning to think that people in my area were not interested in paintings larger than 36″ x 36″.  I rationalized that their homes were small, had many windows and walls were not big enough.  That large bold abstract encaustic paintings didn’t jive with the aesthetic in my area.

This may be true for some people but not all people.

New home for Pillowtalk. 48″ x 48″

I’m not reaching out to all people; just a few true fans.  Slowly we are finding each other.  Drip by drip we’re getting to know each other.  As an artist, part of my role is to bring something new to the table.  It’s not for the masses, just a few who are willing to take the lead.  They are the early birds and love adventure.  Me too.

Next year will be my 10th year of encaustic painting.  I thank those true fans who have supported me and told others about my work.  We’re creating a little niche of like minded people.  People like us like bold colorful art.  We like to tell a story about the painting, the studio and the process.  People like us take leaps of the imagination.

Kevin Kelly wrote an article called 1,000 True Fans.  Here is an excerpt:

To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans.

I may not have 1000 or even 100 true fans, yet I treasure every single one I do have!

You can read the full article here.

XOXO,

Francesca