Regina Calton Burchett – Pastels & Drawing

The last couple of months have been spent enjoying the time I could spare creating art while wondering, yet again, why we do art – especially during slow economic times when not many people seem to be interested in buying what we spend so much time planning, drawing, painting, judging..

And the very complex, intricate, convoluted answer I came up with – because it’s fun. It’s fun to create, it’s fun to use your imagination, it’s fun to play with color and application, it’s fun to see a piece evolve minute by minute, day by day. But we all need input from others and a dry spell in sales can give cause for a lot of self-examination. And too much focus on oneself.

Over the years, we’ve all known people who brought to mind the phrase “enough about me, what do you think about me?” So to guard against too much “me”, it’s necessary at times to get away from your own little self and see what is going on in the world – or at least in your part of it.

Yesterday, I was able to attend several art events exhibiting work by artist friends. One was the Real Gallery, part of the East Austin Studio Tour, which has an impressive number of artists and locations, and a wonderful variety of work. Another event was at a friend’s house, where we enjoyed inspiring music and a beautiful display of her art and technique. And lastly, a visit to another house where the art was created from wood – lovely work and design.

So it was nice, for a change, to not feel the pressure to sell my work – that’s why God made the space between walls and sofas – and to spend time enjoying and appreciating the fruits of other’s creativity.