I’ve been painting for about forty years. I first got a degree in art, doing acrylic abstracts. I was working in oil till a sorority sister sat on my palette right before one of our big dances, and I had to give her my dress, as hers was ruined, and mine was her replacement. Luckily we were the same size.

As I’ve had more time to spend painting and have tried many different types of art, it is interesting to watch reponses on social media of what people like and what they think I should do. If you follow my blog, then you know I did a few drawings of roosters when I was on a cruise. I gave them to one of the men that worked on the ship, as he had a farm at home with chickens. One of my friends thought that I should focus on only chickens. I like chickens, and had some of my own for a time. I do not want to draw them all the time. If you read one of my last blogs, you will see what happened to the chickens. It was really pretty wonderful.

Another friend of mine likes my mini-abstracts and tells me I should only do those! I did them as a prelude to a series of the same in a much larger format. That person told me that my larger pieces do not have the same impact as the smaller pieces? I actually like the larger ones better, and wonder how you can make that judgement from online photos?

Still another friend loves my impressionistic work, and thinks I should focus on that. So who do you listen to, or do you listen to anyone at all. Other friends have asked me to do portraits, and I have done many of those.

No one asks me what I enjoy the most. Maybe they should ask: “What sells the most?” I’ve had someone ask me “Why do I want to sell my art?” I wanted to say something not so nice, but just said that the art supplies were expensive. It was a complete lie! Artists want to be known for what they do and how they do it, and making a little money would not be bad either?

I guess the big question is: Why do people think they should tell you what to do? Or in other words, why do people want to control someone else’s life?

My conclusion is that you should draw or paint whatever you enjoy. If it sells, then great. But if it does not sell, then at least you have enjoyed doing it. I actually donate a lot of my art to local organizations.