Going for a Ride

About the Work

This painting was entered into a juried Museum show. I’m not sure why it was rejected, except that the curator must have had something else in mind. With the possibility of Climate Change creating rapidly accelerating super storms, not to mention that sea levels are rising… living in the “NOW” often involves evacuating. In this painting, we see a car packed with essentials, which importantly includes two very happy dogs. These dogs don’t feel the stress, they’re simply “going for a ride” up to Maryland in the aftermath following Hurricane Ida.

About the Artist

I have been making art for basically my whole life. My work has elicited all kinds of reactions. One of the most difficult things I’ve had to face is rejection.\

In graduate school, we were taught that once we released our artwork “into the wild,” so to speak, we had no control over how the viewer saw it. If I entered a juried show or a gallery and was rejected—while difficult—it didn’t mean that my work wasn’t good. The rejection wasn’t personal; it simply meant that the curator was looking for something other than what I had to offer at that time.\

But being refused still stings. It’s sort of like life, in that you can’t please everyone all the time. I believe the point is to dig deep within and always be—and do—the best that you can.