Life Is Too Short to Sell Only Prints.
I could just say Life is too short to sell only prints, but I'd rather explain myself.
I prefer something hand made, even if ridiculously small, but that makes me stop to appreciate and contemplate it thinking a person, an artist, spent time on that surface (paper, canvas, clay, anything) with a purpose or just mind wandering, an inner world. It traps something unique.
As an artist myself I crave time and reasons to create, to be inspired, to connect with others through symbols, dreams, colours. I would love my paintings to travel the world, perhaps like seeds, some would be lost, but some could keep growing in meaning in other people’s lives.
It’s sad to imagine all the piles of art that have been thrown away because they didn’t get sold or have a place to go, or at best, if framed, they ended up in a charity shop.
How beautiful it would be to aspire to paint without keeping any works, to let other people take care of them. To create, only the tools and materials and the present moment. How much deeper would be the relationship with the artwork if you knew time was limited. Probably the art itself would benefit from the total presence of the artist, the acknowledgement of the impermanence of the creative process itself.
Perhaps it sounds too idealistic in today's living costs. It is less profitable, of course, but it gives you a reason, a powerful force, to keep creating, the original reason one chose that path and no other; it was already implied. I wish original art could be more affordable, authenticity in general. Yes, I’m probably dreaming of an artistic utopia.
I have kept most of the original watercolour illustrations I’ve created, if any of these paintings resonate with you, I would love for them to find a home, wherever it is - simply write to me.
It will be quite funny to empty the studio (but as they say you can believe the impossible but not the improbable, so the paintings will stay sleeping in drawers for a little longer).
Thank you for reading,
Kristina
*Etsy shop link. Most of these are small original watercolour paintings, A5 in size, painted in my studio in Teddington.
