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| ©Theresa Grillo Laird - Mirror - oil on canvas - 14x18 see here |
How grateful I am for the community of artists!
Like many people, I've been watching the campaign season and wondering what is happening to our country. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering how many years we've had to endure "news show" personalities sowing division and hurling vitriol at the political persons and party they disagree with. It makes me wonder how the country can survive the divisions these people have worked so diligently to foster. Even within families you find clashing personalities and viewpoints, but usually the greater good of an intact family prevails over self destruction.
Contrast this sorry picture, to the community of artists. During the past month I've painted with 2 different plein air groups, participated in a paint out, and started a new round of classes and workshops. Each day I find myself in the company of artists, I come back revived, energized and happy. Of course there can sometimes be petty jealousies or prima donnas, but somehow, there usually isn't. What is there is a diverse bunch of people with varying degrees of experience and knowledge. There's generosity, goodwill, and an eagerness to explore and to share the results of different approaches to painting and marketing problems.Though we all paint differently and have different goals and ambitions, we recognize our commonality and celebrate the enormous good luck of finding ourselves here on this earth living as artists. -kind of like the incredible good luck of being born in this country.
If as artists, very different in many ways from each other, we can thrive together and celebrate what each brings to the table, is it such a far fetched idea that we can do the same as a country? Maybe the voices we hear too much of on the airwaves, need to take a look at how it's done in the community of artists.
