How it went: An Evening of Art
I mentioned somewhere that I could just, you know, CALL MYSELF AN ARTIST and it would be done.
But some fanfare never hurts, and wow - An Evening of Art provided the loveliest venue & opportunity for me to celebrate coming into a new chapter of my artistic journey.
Hosted by Burning Through Pages and supported by major sponsors Second Star from the Right Books and Global Education Group, this event supports the work BTP does with Denver youth focusing on literacy and access to great books. They lift up local artists, who in turn get an opportunity to share their work and donate a portion of their proceeds back to BTP for their mission. (I think that’s a win-win-win, right?)
So how was it?
Firstly - how often do we get a chance to dress up? Like - REALLY dress up? Speaking for myself, the answer is not often. If I’m lucky it’s about once a year, with my long term average well below that. So I got the prettiest, glitteriest dress and wore the tallest shoes and just felt like the prettiest version of me.
Secondly - saying “hey guys, I’m a painter now too!” in the internet void feels a bit sterile and like… a lot of effort with minimal return. But presenting my work in front of my people and interested people felt much more connected and authentic - and if you know me, that’s what I’m all about.
Thirdly - I put myself forward to be considered for this opportunity, and as a result - I learned a LOT about everything. From realizing - yikes, I have to learn how to stretch my own raw canvases to make the layers I want - to: oh, these paintings need a frame to really finish them off, I wonder how I do that? to: gosh, how do I create a Certificate of Authenticity for my work, and how would I like to package it for delivery? Along the way, I got to learn a lot about how I work behind the scenes with an important deadline (instead of just convincing myself to stay quiet and not try at all).
Fourthly - I decided to make my measure of the night’s success the connections I made - not selling. So imagine my absolute shock when one painting sold prior to the show even starting and the other selling within the first 30 minutes. Needless to say, I’m still literally over the moon.
My only regret? Not finding a way to take more photos during the event. But making so many incredible connections was worth the tradeoff. <3
Be sure to check out the other amazing artists featured:
