Vertical Ascension

Every artist/photographer's desire is to touch people 

and make them feel emotion through your work.

Living in a digital world, artists many times don't have a

personal connection to the people who view our work.

We put our art up on websites and watch our 

stat counters to see that yes, indeed, there are people viewing our work,

but there is no personal interaction between the artist and viewer.

Did they like my work?

Did it make them think or feel a particular way?

Did they connect with the vision I was trying to create?

These questions often times go unanswered

due to the impersonal way we display our art.

The phone call I received today was from a person who saw my website

and took the time to tell me he appreciated my photography skills and digital art creations.

He had a background in art and discussed in depth what he appreciated about

certain pieces of mine including the concert image of John Mayer

and also the guitar player in New York City.

He asked the background about each of the pictures and 

told me his feelings and opinions about them.

That is a gift I don't often get as a photographer/artist.

After hanging up with this person, I felt a bit weird.

While I know I put my work out there to be seen,

I don't really THINK about strangers viewing my work

and it having an impact on them. 

My work is very personal to me, so I don't necessarily think about

the stories strangers may conjure up in their minds as to the circumstances behind the images.

So while it was very flattering, it was also a bit strange and uncomfortable for me.

Sometimes the best things in life are uncomfortable, though,

so today I am grateful this person took the time to give me 

a viewer's insight into how he felt about my work.

It made me feel good about what I do.

Now if I could just kick this chronic illness and get back to it!

xo