There's always more to achieve but I'm very content with my current situation. It's important to strive and to have attainable goals, but it's also important, particularly for a freelancer or solo worker, to recognize when you've met intermediate goals and to give yourself a pat on the back.
I am extremely happy to have been able to pursue life as an artist for so many years and in so many capacities. I have worked in many aspects of graphic design, web design, illustration, and fine art. I've been able to use my skills to help other businesses, particularly start-ups, and put marketing and promotion knowledge to use for them and for myself. And there's so much more to learn!
Now I am at a point where I am concentrating diligently on fine art with figurative work and portraiture as a primary focus. The challenge of creating a perfect likeness is all-consuming and it is a great way to employ a wide variety of artistic techniques that I have picked up over the years. To be able to paint a portrait and bring happiness to people on a personal level is a wonderful feeling! That certainly meets my definition of success.
And in any art museum, portraits are everywhere: in every style, color, and size, from every country and created by every type of artist.
In a portrait's brushstrokes we find a path connecting us to another human on a timeless level.
Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, van Gogh and Rembrandt's many self-portraits, these are just a few of the well-known portraits that have come down to us through the ages. Their popularity is testimony to the power and value of capturing personality, character, and aspect, on canvas.
Oil paint captures the living qualities of the human face and body like no other medium. Skillfully handled, the portrait transcends technique and draws the viewer in, and a single artist creates a treasure for us all.