America votes

Underwater Love| 20″ x 20″ | Claire J Kendrick

By this evening we will know who the next American President will be! As America stands on the fiscal cliff, galleries and artists this side of the pond have been affected by the downturn in the market.  It takes nerves of steel to hold out to improve your work and craft as a painter and not chase down the dollar, painting for the market. Walking the fine line between feast and famine in the art world, this separates the pack. It’s frowned upon for an artist to discount their paintings to meet the demands of the financially strapped, they must honor their collectors. For those that paint ‘just’  to sell can be the kiss of death. To give up on the process, and simply draft a picture it will not be a painting. It will no longer be an authentic personal reaction to the subject.  So it’s important to stand firm, improve and maybe find a second job….!

Artist Robert Genn, compares paintings to bars of gold he calls them “assets of investment, a treasury that may span generations”. “Artists,” noted Salvador Dali, “are manufacturers of wealth.”

Europe’s economy is majorly depressed. Life in Ireland is returning to that of the famine years, when people had to leave the country to get work. Ireland has been let down by its bankers, property developers and our politicians. However always proud of the arts it supports artists, actors and writers and musicians and they play everything in building Ireland’s reputation abroad. I met and reconnected with a few great artist friends this year but they will all tell you they are finding it tough… however people aren’t going to Ireland for a sun tan, they are going for the culture and the scenery and the arts!

Vote with confidence America, support and develop your creativity. It will get you out of some deep water… Enjoy “Underwater Love” | 20″x20″ | Encaustic Painting