Anxiety Attack

Funny thing. I make the art because I love doing it. It piles up in my studio. In order to justify doing more painting, I need to give the finished paintings a home. So I enter exhibits and make sure my work is out there, being seen and being purchased.

In a group show, well, there are a group of artists, who in turn have a group of friends, and friends of friends, and collectors, family members and so on. You can show and still be fairly inconspicuous. If no one comes to see the work, well, whose fault is it?

A solo show is a different kind of animal. It's just all about me, me, me and more me. The questions that arise are: will anyone at all show up? Or will the gallery be full of people (almost as frightening for a social phobic like me)? It'll be a little hard to hide when all the paintings on the wall are mine. And here I am with a solo show, opening on Friday night!

There are a lot of people out there, helping with publicity for the show. I just discovered several wonderful posts by Kristin Shears, owner of Willo North Gallery. Patricia Sahertian has been sending out press releases and doing lots of social media, and my husband, Jim Cowlin, just put me on our (hot off the press) US Route 89 newsletter. Todd Daniel has been schlepping postcards all over town in the heat and humidity.

It humbles me to think of people going all out for me and for my work. It's funny, alright. It would be so nice to just be able to hunker down in my studio and never, ever leave. Of course, then I'd miss out on meeting all the nice people I'll be meeting on Friday evening. I hope you're there, too. I hear the food is going to be great!