I thought this a good thought to begin 2017. You can’t make anybody love you, so love yourself! The rest will follow… “I can’t make you love me” sung here by George Michael – recorded by MTV in 2009.

I decided share a song first today instead of at the end of my blog post. While I’ve been always been a fan of George Michael, I found this rendition especially poignant. “I can’t make you love me”. Do you like it?

In a recent interview, Bruce Springsteen spoke about how he knew that he (Bruce) had an awful voice, but he truly believed that it was more important as a performer to learn how to “inhabit a song”. My takeaway as an artist is: remember to set your own standards first -because a truthful artist knows if he/she did excellent work. And, then you’re competing with yourself. Obviously, to be successful, others have to agree with the results too. The process however, begins internally. If a work becomes successful, it’s because it speaks well to others.

Sometimes, it’s challenging to hold fast to what I want my artwork to say. You can spend a lot of time looking at trends, observing what others are doing and doing the necessary drudge work in order to get the results you want.  For example, color sensibility in the northeast ( in home decor) is very conservative. People are fearful of too much color and then, cautious about putting one’s own preferences in the public eye. If you add the fact that women buyers are often raised to please others, and put their needs first –individual expression suffers too.love

These are some of the pillows I labored over for a long time, but declined to bring them forward to market.  I sensed that they wouldn’t be loved. Too wild?

This year, in 2017, I’m setting aside some of my attentiveness to others ideas and charting a course toward color in all its forms. Most recently, I’ve been breaking down photos into layers to allow them to work together more as a painter does with an acrylic wash or a seamstress with translucent fabrics. Loving it. My dahlias become much softer in pieces. Sometimes dahlias are like  so many perfect ardent little soldiers that require firm handling to soften them.love

All the flowers I grow have the potential to become more… don’t forget to visit our family of pillows on Etsy as PaolaStudio. Did I mention they’re looking for good homes?

You can read about the Paola Story here.

 

 

Related Images:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.