Building Bridges through Creative Pursuits

[Chris V++]

Did that relate to your art? Have you tried fasting or asking others to pray on your behalf?

I haven't tried that. I haven't fasted in years.

It sounds like you’re ambivalent about earning an income for your art and have created or permitted conditions that support the ideology.

I might just sound that way. I'm about to enter an art competition that brings instant success if accepted. It's a quarterly publication. Probably 25k or more competing for 100 spots. There is a single juror and they change the juror every quarter so a lot of it depends on the tastes of the juror. Jurors can be researched, but that's no guarantee. Ive sold paintings at local shows and never refused a commission, but never made enough to consider quitting the day job. I had gallery representation for a time but the gallery folded due to the bad economy. Ill just keep plugging away. My son is entering high school and I'm the sole provider since we decided my wife would be a stay at home mom 14 years ago, so I really cant take any big career risks at this point so have to make it happen in my spare time, if that makes sense. I have hundreds of paintings sitting in crates so I figured why not try to use them to get people to donate to charities that feed kids in 3rd world countries, or something like that. I have enough to open my own gallery, but can't take that risk just yet with a mortgage, son's collage coming up etc.

I’m not borrowing anything. It isn’t that much when you have the resources or products to fund the venture.

That's great to hear. It sounds like you have it sorted out.