I spent a few minutes looking for a motivational Monday image for my Instagram this morning and in the process of sorting through my artwork (sorted by year), I realized that my first folder is from 2012, meaning that I've been working as an artist for ten years. I suppose I knew that, but it just really impacted me this morning.
Ten years ago, I started with the idea of trying to write a blog, but was floundering for a topic. I stumbled across the legend of the Bai Ze Tu which dictated a book (since lost) which detailed all 10,000 of the supernatural beasts found in the world. The Bai Ze Tu is sometimes described as a cow with a single large eye or a fierce cat beast with nine eyes.
I liked this idea. Image trying to recreate a book like that, but how to start? Where to find an image of such a beast? My use of photoshop to that point was limited to a little color work and playing with fonts. This was a very different sort of adventure.
Not long after starting, I was hooked. The blog never really went anywhere as I couldn't figure out how to attract followers, but I loved making art. I found River Region Art Association in 2013 around the same time that they were opening a new gallery in Gonzales. They welcomed me with open arms, complimented my work, and gave me a space to hang my work.
Once I started selling art through their gallery, I knew what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure how to move forward. The Arts Council of Baton Rouge offered a class on learning to market your artwork in early 2014 and taught me everything I needed to know. I'd found a path that resonated me with and that I loved so, ten years later, here I am.
I do need to confess that I opened the image of this Bai Ze Tu and may have altered it before I posted it. (As Leonardo da Vinci said, "No work of art is ever complete, merely abandoned"). For transparency, this is the original.
I may need to try to create a Bai Ze Tu from scratch just to book end this comfortably. Definitely an interesting way to motivate my Monday!