OLD ARTISTS SIMPLY FADE AWAY

I was recently asked what happens to artists as they grow old, do they simply fade away? 

An interesting question for which there’s no real answer, although I can say that in my case as I aged, grew older, I became tired of the politics of art, and as a result allowed myself  to slip-slide away. I’ve noticed that I’m not alone when it comes to being tired of ever producing more art, and having to wave my arms to attract attention. It’s a difficult life, with not much reward. Most don’t realize all that goes into working at being an artist. 

The majority of persons believe that the artist simply paints a picture and magically it’s framed and appears on a gallery wall, where it is magically sold for a lot of money. Don’t I wish. The truth is that apart from first of all learning how to draw and paint the artist has to gain recognition through hard work and sacrifice, recognition enough to be lucky to be chosen to hang your work in a reputable gallery.  I use the word reputable, as there are many art galleries, but few owned and operated by persons who know anything about art, and have a clientele also educated in the arts.  As well, most don’t realize that artists rarely sell all the work that they produce, and that what they do sell is subject to a commission as well as various other expenses. Truth be known most artists have little work chosen to be hung in reputable galleries, and depend upon various group exhibits, art festivals, and sales through their own studios to simply exist.

There are many masters for the artist to please, and working to please everyone can, and does, become tiring.

I began to slip-slide away when, tired of wrapping and packing and setting up at this and that festival, or showing, I limited my exhibiting to my own studio. This worked for awhile, but then we decided to move, and I lost my studio. I had every intention of creating a new studio and continuing to exhibit, but then along came the digital era opening the possibility of exhibiting using the world wide web. It had possibilities, but by this time I was using the computer to do some writing, and hit upon the idea of using my art and experiences to produce “print on demand” books. I realized that there wasn’t much money to be made from producing books, especially if your not travelling around the country with a trunk load of your books, but continued in that direction, until one day I looked carefully in the mirror and realized, that I had become an old artist. I decided to continue to write, produce books, and do the occasional sketch, or painting to fill in gaps in my books.

And here we are, I’ve all but slip-slid away. Soon, no doubt, I’ll simply fade away. If I’m lucky (of course I won’t know) the memory of what I accomplished will continue on for awhile with the help of Google, and my books.  In time, however, my paintings and drawings will join with the art of countless other artists, and end up buried in some landfill. 

Have you ever wondered….

Have you ever wondered

where our memories go,

when we are old,

and go away.

Do memories simply fade away?

As we fade

slowly,

do our memories leave,

and find a place

secure in time,

or do they follow

our ascent

to a better time.

It’s sad to think

that memories made

with such a struggle,

laced with pain, 

and sorrow,

would simply be forgotten.

Memories made should be cherished,

and shared,

preserved,

so that we,

and those before,

will never be forgotten.

EAS

~~~~

Various Pencil Drawings 2014