... or, how it all started.
One of my kids, probably encouraged by his siblings, once gave me a magnet, which proudly states: “Everybody is entitled to my Opinion”. Needless to say that my Opinion on the matter under hand was given on the spot, from which both object and objector have since recovered nicely. Because when it comes to art, everybody is, of course, entitled to their Opinion. But when you’re a budding artist, self-conscious and unsure, everybody’s Opinion can become the source of doubts and nightmares and doubts again. I started painting late in life, some twenty five years ago and found the courage to show my work to professionals some time later. That proved to be both an exhilarating and tormenting experience. My teacher and mentor, the late Georges Faget-Bénard, often said “il ne passe personne dans ton placard”, which sounds sexy but really translates into “nobody gets to see the inside of your closet”. Or in other words, get out there and show your work! So, soon after learning to correctly hold a brush, go out did I and, oh boy, did I receive Opinions! Galleries I shyly approached with my meager portfolio politely informed me that they were swamped with requests, that we were too big a number of wannabe artists to actually fit into their schedule, that the latter was only available to “recognizable” artists, that realism painting has passed to never return, that only “displays” (you know, a pair of army boots without laces in the middle of a huge, empty room?) could be considered Art, that I should learn to paint, that the market was flooded…. From those Opinions I have managed to recover. As, I am sure, most budding artists have and will. I do enter a competition every year or two, at the French Salon des artistes français in Paris. And have learned to gratefully appreciate the rewards and listen to criticism.
All this to say that if you’re an artist still hiding in your closet, open the door and push your work out there. That is My Opinion.