Saturday, January 21, 2012

Sticks and Stones






I got a Twitter Message yesterday that said...
"Are you aware of the rumors/bad things that are being said about you?"
There was a link...
and I clicked it...
I wanted to know what bad things were being said about me.

Turns out...the sender's account had been hacked
and the hacker was attempting to
spread a malicious virus of some sort.
(The link sent me to a sign in page...and I didn't sign in...
so hopefully my computer is okay.)

But...after giving some thought to my reaction...
I came to realize that I'm not as 'thick skinned' as I thought I was.
I do care if someone is saying bad things about me.
Maybe that's because I don't say bad things about people...
at least nothing that I wouldn't say directly to their face.

Some time ago...I ran across a forum thread in which
someone suggested that I might be 'copying' another artist.

While I am a big fan of this artist...
and have, on occasion, wished I had thought
of one of her particular ideas...I've never copied anyone...
at least not since I taught myself how to paint
many years ago....(I learned how to paint by 'copying'
the back covers of Reader's Digest magazines).
I have no idea what ever became of those early efforts...
certainly they were never given to anyone else.

As an artist, I do realize that not everyone is going to like what I do..
and that really is okay.
I don't necessarily like everything that I see...
but I respect the right of the artist to express themselves
how they choose.
So I don't berate the art or the artist...I either like it or I don't..
which is my right.
But I choose to exercise that right...in silence.
I'm really not about purposely...or inadvertently (if I can help It)
hurting someone else's feelings.

On another note...


...while you can't see it from the preview...
my 'Nevermore' print
is the back cover of this book...
by Rey Otis.

I thought that was really cool and I'm going to have to grab
a copy for my own library!









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