I pulled up this early study today, a smallish piece on paper from 1994 that was one of my first efforts in the technique that I developed for myself from which all my subsequent work derived in some way. I can still remember the excitement of discovery that was in every piece at that point, how each brushload of paint seemed filled with the possibility of showing me something I hadn’t seen before. It was all I needed then– me and the paint and a place to lay it down. My own eyes were enough.
There was a comment yesterday that inquired as to my use of the word collector in describing the attendees of my shows and buyers of my work. I’ve been thinking about the importance of these people for some time and this comment brought back the debate I have internally in describing them. Customers and clients seem too cold and businesslike as words for how I view them. As does buyers.
I’ve always felt funny using the word fans to describe my collectors. I don’t exactly know why but there’s something a little too egotistical, too self-aggrandizing, in saying my fans.
Followers is close to being okay but there is an element of the cultish in it that makes me nervous. Besides, there are plenty of collectors who have bought several apintings of mine without following the progress of the work over the years, people who happen to simply like the work and come back again to add to their collection.
So, I’m left with the word collector. I like the sound of it and have earmarked as an important word to myself ever since I realized that there were people who might someday collect my work, which was a short time after I began working on pieces like the small study at the top of the page. The word has become more important to me over the years. There is the obvious reason, in that collectors provide the income that sustains me. But collectors have provided me with more than mere money.
There have been times, over the years, when that initial excitement as I described above had faded and the process itself was not motivation enough to make me want to spend my days alone in my studio. Though I think I am well suited to isolation, there are times when it is daunting. But it has been during these times when the remoteness has been overbearing that the thought of my collectors, of people who take an active interest in my work, who give it thought and time in which to flourish, have pulled me through. Given my work a purpose. Knowing that there were collectors out there willing to view the work I made in the solitude of my studio made the isolation fade away, as though there were hundreds of eyes looking over my shoulder as I worked. It’s hard to describe the gratitude I feel for this presence that they give me in the studio, not to mention the motivation they provide. I find myself always wanting to push for something more, something new to pass along to these collectors, if only as a small repayment for what they have provided me. I feel that they have placed a trust of some sort in my work and it’s imperative that I not betray that trust by giving less than my full effort.
So, if there’s a better word, please tell me. But it will be hard to push out the meaning and importance of the word as I perceive it for those who I refer to as my collectors.
Redtree Times 
Thanks for those thoughtful comments.
And thanks for posting that early work. Simply put, I like it. A lot.
I’ve had a draft in my files for some time called “Birth of a Collector”. With me, it ended up being early American pottery and art china, especially Ohio River valley, and especially 1880-1920.
There are two points in that draft that seem relevant here.
First, “collecting” isn’t the same as accumulating. You could have a pile of paintings and not be a collector.
More important, collectors fall in love. Granted, individual items may be picked up for their historical value, rarity or resale, but generally speaking the most cherished pieces have that “pearl of great price” quality.
I suspect that’s the part of collecting that eases the isolation of the studio. After all, the love that attaches to the art would necessarily spill over to the artist.
I believe I’ll think on this a bit more myself.
“Pearl of great price”– what a lovely phrase!
You are correct, collecting is not the same as accumulating. It is about the thought and care placed in obtaining the work that defines the term.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13: 45,46.
Ol’ King James hired only the best.
Though, strangely, my first thought was of high school, “The Scarlet Letter”, and Hester Prynne’s Pearl of great price.
Gary,
I really love the way you use the watercolor, or rather- the way you let the watercolor do its’ thing, in your early pieces.
I’m beginning to see the importance of collectors in my work too, and think of them when I’m working alone in the studio 🙂
Thanks so much, Bridget. While thinking about the collector, never let them change your own instincts about your work. Let yourself be excited by your own work first–your collectors will see what you see, most of the time.
What about “art lover?”
Because I’m not a collector of anything but bad karma.
The only problem with “art lover” is that it sounds like a marketing ploy, like the Meat Lover’s Pizza from Pizza Hut.
I’m thought about “afficionado” but it sounds too upper crust. Hmm, another pizza reference ?
Hey Gary… Here’s a thought from twelve years later (more or less)… I’ll happily be considered a collector. But, more than anything else, I find myself considering your and my relationship on an even more personal level. I find myself feeling a strong friendship. A friendship with someone I’ve never had the opportunity of meeting in any way other than virtually. But, through your art and our digital interactions over the years I think I’ve glimpsed the truth of the man/artist… And that man/artist like. So, looking around my house, collector works just fine for me. Thanks for being my friend…
Hi, Gary. I had to reread this post from years back and it, along with your comment here, made me think. It’s funny to think but you and a number of other folks who have read along for years now probably have a better idea of who I am, both as an artist and a person, than some family or friends I’ve had most of my life. A lot of times, as we deal with those folks around us in our day-to-day lives, we know them from only one perspective, perhaps seeing them with only the mask they wear for some folks and situations. Unless we make an effort and spend time getting to truly know them, we seldom get past that perspective, don’t get to see behind that mask. Thanks for taking the time and making the effort to get beyond the mask. You might call yourself collector, and I have no problem with that, but I definitely consider you first as friend, Gary. All my best!