I recently joined the Rappahanock Art League after many years of avoiding doing so. The art league is not selective in whom they allow to show there. It is one thing to let the public in general become members, but to artist who are serious about their work having your more professional work hang next to work that is lacking in style and artistic ability is very distasteful. Okay, I am an art snob. So I realized that there were in deed a few artist showing there who were accomplished artist and I decided that I did need a place to display my art.
I have my paintings hanging in the gallery, which is next door to our shop. I was asked as a new member to display my work in one of the two windows of the gallery. One of the members wrote up a press release about the windows. She decided to incorporate the current show which featured five male artist in the gallery with the article about the two female artist displaying in the front windows. Doing this she completely got off track and proceeded to tie the two together giving the men in both our families credit for the art work we created. Needless to say I was upset by this. I have written a rebut to the previous article which I fully intend to deliver to the paper. When one has worked since their childhood on their art one does not want the credit given to anyone else, even to family.
So this is what I wrote:
The previous article printed concerning the current artist represented in the window at the Rappahanock Art League was in accurate and anti feminine. The reporter took artistic license when writing the article in order to write what she thought was a cohesive write up. She made it sound as if women could not accomplish anything without help from men.
As one of the artist represented in the window display, I wish to set the record straight. I have been encouraged by my parents to use my artistic abilities. It was my mother who fostered my love of art. I had polio as a child and I could not run and play as a small child. My mother diverted me with playing with art. Art supplies were always available. Both my parents were artist, although neither were professional at that time. As I grew older, I continued to love drawing. I was not allowed to take lessons as they wanted me to develop my own style, rather than being influenced by a teacher.
In college I studied Art History and later I worked with my father in my parents art gallery restoring art. I never stopped painting. Even when I had small children I would take every opportunity to practice my art. I distinctly remember looking at things in nature and mentally figuring out how to go about painting them.
I have been both painting and selling my art works for over thirty years. I now have post polio and I have to use a power wheelchair, and I continue to paint. It is wrong to say that males are responsible for my talent and my accomplishments. No one else is responsible. If you have an ability and manage to become an artist you do that on your own.
This was published in the letters to the editor.
I also sold a painting to a customer at our shop and he wrote me a beautiful letter concerning my work. It is always nice to have you ego boosted every now and then.
