I received a very favorable review yesterday in the Erie newspaper for my show at the Kada Gallery in Erie. I debated over writing about mentioning it at all this morning. There seemed to be something just a bit too self-congratulatory in saying, “Hey, look! They wrote nice things about me!” But unfortunately, that’s part of the business, this sometimes shameless self-promotion.
I’ve written about this before here. One of the things an artist must do to succeed is to get their work and their name in front of as many people as possible. An artist seldom succeeds in making a decent living without stepping forward and drawing some attention to their work and themselves, which is usually a very difficult thing for many artists, given that many artists tend to be observers rather than instigators of action. Myself, I would certainly rather stay in my studio and paint than have to go out and promote my work.
But it is part of the package, part of the job. So I will mention this lovely review in the Erie Times-News from writer Karen Rene Merkle. Visual art does not get a lot of press these days and unless your show is in a major metropolitan area reviews of any sort are rare. Just getting press coverage beyond printing the details contained in press releases from the galleries is becoming more and more difficult, given the dwindling status of the print media. So, as an artist, you can imagine my surprise and delight when I found that someone had taken the time to spend real time looking at the work and to write substantively on it. And in an effective and well written manner, to boot. Ms. Merkle, who I have not met, is a very fine writer and gives the fortunate people of the Erie area a much deeper examination into her subjects than most would expect from a newspaper of that size.
To you, Ms. Merkle, I extend my thanks for taking the time to look at my work and give your opinion. It is most appreciated.
Redtree Times 