Monday, January 5, 2015

What's My Legacy

Having come off of 2014 as the most prolific year of my career in several years, I am excited to build on my successes of the past 12 months.  I have several commissions that may turn into fruition, plus many, many more 'fun' projects in the offing,

But something that has been nagging at me, perhaps because I am getting older, is what legacy will I leave with my art?  I realize that I may not achieve the fame and notoriety of artists like Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas, but I really hope that my art can be enjoyed by others long after I'm gone, as well as now.  How does an artist do that?  I frankly don't know.



The Landers Sisters-Audrey & Judy. Reference courtesy of Playboy

I was watching the the feature on Sting during Kennedy Center Honors the other night, and in his intro piece, he said that, after a very prolific songwriting career,  "the songs just stopped coming."  That scared the piss out of me.  What would happen if I suddenly lost my ability to create?  I love what I do, & I love my pinup and nude female subject matter; if my ability to create suddenly left me, I'd be depressed, I'd be lost.  It's scary to even think about it. 

Creative people have a drive to do just that--create.  And our creations are usually very personal, as they are extensions of ourselves.  As I watched Sting as he listened to people giving him tribute through his music, I saw him well up as he rocked and hummed along.  The songs were his offspring, and he was the proud papa as others sang them.  I  looked up at the pieces that hang in our rec room and thought, that is my legacy.  No matter what, these pieces will somehow live beyond me.  I hope you enjoy them.

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