About Success

Some years ago I heard painter Elmer Bischoff  say, "For the artist, success begins and ends in the
studio".

Those words have stayed with me. While I would have enjoyed some (definitely not all) of the aspects of fame, and fortune would have been helpful, I am my harshest critic and most demanding evaluator. The questions of how close I got to the vision I pursue and whether the detours that I took pushed me off course are always present. The validation that comes from sales and from the support of friends, family and fans is important, but the last word is mine.

There is a poem by Emily Dickinson  about a dialogue between two departed souls lying in adjoining graves. I picture myself in that place looking back over my life; my questions are: Did I really live it? Did I do all that I could with what I was given? The answers would be about overcoming anxiety (mine doesn't dissipate) and getting on with the show. I can't claim to have taken all the risks and accepted every challenge; I just hope that the long look backwards doesn't include many regrets.

Logan P. Smith said: How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten?

The image above is Cheers ©1995, Acrylic on Paper Mounted on Canvas, 35 x 23". For information about any of the paintings on this site, please email Joan.