COMMUNITY M AT T E R S
The term “starving artist” evokes the vision of a lonely and destitute life. Though I will never understand why, this has become the expected, modern vision of what an artist should be. If you’re not working to exhaustion, all alone, and barely making ends meet, you must certainly be doing this whole art thing wrong. But is this a historical reality? Let’s take our cue from the life of Claude Monet, one of the most famous impressionist painters in history. If you have the idea that he slaved away all alone with his art, you’re very mistaken. He had a community of artists around him, and they supported each other. Imagine having the likes of Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Fredric Bazille in your circle! Monet also took advice from Johann Barthold Jongkind — a landscape painter who was a strong influence in his younger days. Wow. That’s the kind of support modern artists dream of! Monet is just one example of many who had a circle of other artists around him supporting his efforts. Having other artists in your life was the historical norm. This whole idea of figuring things out all by yourself, never having input from peers, and slaving away all alone is a modern fallacy.
Thankfully, we have Monet’s same sense of community in Beyond the Brushes. While we work in the modern construct of remote learning, we still support each other as modern artists should. We rejoice with every new sale, and we commiserate together when things go wrong. We even critique each other via the community review portal. Getting input from your peers is one of the best ways to advance your skills. We also work together in live meetings and laugh and talk and even have lengthy discussion on things even outside the paint world. It’s wonderful! And it’s all right here inside Beyond the Brushes. When I dreamed of building Beyond the Brushes, I had hopes of the kind of community we have, but to be hon est, the community has far exceeded anything I imagined. I have found myself immersed in the kind of art world most modern artists can only dream of — the kindest, and most giving people seem to have migrated to Beyond the Brushes and they love and support each other… and for that, I’m thankful..
Michelle
