The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.

–Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur (The Liar) (1643)

My annual Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery is one week from today. It takes place next Saturday, August 19, beginning at 11 AM. It’s an hour of conversation about art and often much more that comes to an end with what has become a tradition before the four-year hiatus caused by the pandemic – the drawing for an original painting to awarded to someone in attendance.

I have written in the past about how I sweat over the selection of the paintings for these drawings. I really want these paintings to be meaningful for myself so that it feels like I am actually making a sacrifice in letting go of the piece. I think that an element of self-sacrifice makes for a true and meaningful gift.

I know that by giving those paintings away that I cherish, they most likely will have more meaning to those who receive them. And that is important to me even though I sometimes experience regret at letting go of certain paintings. Looking back, I have given away paintings with so much personal meaning in the past that I sometimes wish that I had held on to them. 

Take for example the choice I have made to give away next Saturday, shown at the top. It is a painting called Hope Rises, a 12″ by 24″ painting on canvas from back in 2018. I have watched this piece make the rounds of the galleries with great interest over the past several years because I felt from the beginning that there was something special about it. It has, for me, a deep sense of pondering that comes through in the deep blues of the fractured sky. There is just something in it that speaks to me.

Seeing a piece with which I had such a strong connection constantly back to me was frustrating. After a bit I determined that it should stay with me and for the past several months it has hung where I see it all the time. It was sort of a test to see if there was something in it that I wasn’t seeing that made it less appealing to others. I haven’t seen it yet and, if anything, I have become even more convinced of its strength and durability.

Actually, its underappreciation made it appeal to me even more. I can relate to that. Feelings of being underestimated, overlooked, and unheard may well have been the primary driving force in pursuing my art.

Don’t we all want to be seen and heard and appreciated?

That’s what I see in this piece and part of what makes it special for me.

It deserves to be seen, deserves to be part of someone’s life.

Maybe part of your life.

Next Saturday I will part with this painting and it will begin a new life somewhere outside my studio. I am excited by the thought that this painting might take on new meaning for someone else who will give it the appreciation it deserves. Hopefully, it will make them appreciate better those who give them such things in their own lives.

I make my living and get great gratification in selling my work but the simple act of transferring a meaningful painting in these events is a special moment for me. There’s a surge of emotion in this act that comes from expressing my gratitude to the folks who have both given their time and supported me over the years. The fact that they have made me feel heard, seen, and appreciated is as much a gift for me as the painting might be to whoever receives it.

Please come on out to the West End Gallery next Saturday, August 19 for the Gallery Talk and a chance to make Hope Rises part of your life. Plus, there are some other little surprises so definitely try to make it. Take note that the Gallery Talk begins at 11 AM and, since seating is limited, we are asking thatyou contact the West End Gallery to reserve your seat as soon as possible.If you get there early, maybe we can have a pre-Talk chat!