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As anyone whose read more than a few of my posts know, I’ve never passed myself off as a genius. Quite the opposite at times! Neither am I a fortune teller, or a scholar, and I’m certainly not a wildly successful, filthy rich artist.

And that’s all ok.

Now, I’m also not the kind of artist who tailors what I do for how I think it will be received. If I’m doing a commission well that’s different, but other than that, I go with where my mood takes me and paint what I want.

But…as each painting gets added to my body of work, at times I like to think I’ve learned at least a little bit more about what makes a piece a success – or not. But then I realize who am I kidding?

Audiences in certain parts of the country like to only see me paint certain subjects, right? Nope!

Women are more likely than men to like certain paintings of mine, right? Nope again.

One canvas size is better than another? Some paint colors are great, some I should avoid like the plague? Hah!

A painting that takes weeks must be better than something casual I whipped out in a day or two, right? Double hah!

What I’m getting at is the only certainty I’ve found is, there’s apparently no formula for what makes a painting more well-received than another. It’s all a crapshoot!

Some of my work that I’ve been convinced will start an immediate bidding war with collectors instead falls a bit flat. 

Paintings that I unveil to the world – and then regret showing them 5 minutes later – turn out to be some of my most popular pieces. A reaction I never see coming.

I don’t lay awake at night worrying about all of this (oh no, I have plenty of other things to feed my insomnia) but I do think it’s curious to puzzle over. 

I’ve said this before but in different ways: I'm the one that has to be proud of what I do, and that’s the only metric that matters.