Luck and Opportunity

Georgia O'Keeffe: Always ready to go.

I am a collector by habit. I collect books. I collect places. I collect rocks with rings going all the way around, because my mother once told me that if you kept one, it meant you would come back to that place someday.

 I also collect quotations that I find meaningful; I have done this for decades, mostly from books and movies. But in these days of social media, I am bombarded with them daily: pithy idioms, spiritual callings, motivational mantras. I believe they tell me something about the the person posting - or the desired image he or she hopes to project. But occasionally they ring true and can provide a mental direction for my day.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, c. AD 65

Georgia O’Keeffe once said that every serious artist should have several shows waiting to hang (I collected this one long before the advent of social media). I remember thinking that it sounded a little silly – after all, how many galleries are out knocking on doors looking for an art show ready to hang? That being said, I do try to paint a lot and have a lot of art ready to hang, and lo and behold! A gallery called in need of a show.

Actually, it was an email, and it was a gallery I had approached a few months ago with an invitation to visit my website, and if they saw a good fit for their gallery, to come visit my studio and talk about perhaps showing my work. We had exchanged a few emails over the summer, and when I didn’t hear back for a while I sent a gentle follow up reminder. The response was an invitation to put up a solo show virtually overnight – a scheduled artist had cancelled, and they had a gallery to fill, if I happened to have some art hanging around, ready to show.

Another quotation that is often bandied about is attributed to the Roman philosopher, Seneca: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I am frequently told that I am lucky, and I believe I am. While I’m not the most organized person, I like to believe I am sometimes prepared, like a good scout.

Et voilà. We picked a theme, we picked some pieces, and as soon as I’m done scrambling to get the paintings ready to be picked up, I will share an evite and posting on FB, and sending out a few postcards and a press release. I may even have to open a Twitter account, something I’ve avoided up to now, as is seems to be just another avenue for sharing pithy quotes. But time is short and I’d like to get the word out, so onward we go. Hope to see you at the gallery!