What's Next? Reflections on a Career in Art

In 2007, I launched upon a project.

Births, deaths, a deepening relationship, and an profound shift in identity had thrown my life into complete upheaval. My very sense of self was being torn down and rebuilt.

At the same time, for the first time in my adult life, I didn’t have to worry about paying expenses. I didn’t know how long this situation would last, but I recognized it for what it was: an opportunity to really throw myself into building an art career. I wanted to see if I could “make it” as an artist.

Polka Dot 2008 ©lesliepetersonsapp

I wanted to make something of myself.

I worked hard to create a cohesive body of work in a style I felt viewers would enjoy and want to own. I built a website and learned the basics of self-marketing. I answered calls to exhibit. Eventually, I got gallery representation. My career was on an upward trajectory—better galleries, better shows, more sales, and higher prices for my work. Until…

• One gallery I thought was going to represent me backed out.
• Another gallery, (my crown jewel in Carmel, CA) turned out to be untrustworthy, and I was obliged to fight to get paid and get my art returned to me.
• Another gallery closed because the owner died.
  

The upshot is that the first eight years of my career was ascendant, and the second eight years have been a retraction, to the extent that, for the large part, I’m back pretty much to where I started- or at least where I was in about 2011.

Maybe if I had worked harder, things it would have gone differently. Perhaps if I had made better choices here and there, I would have had a different outcome.

But truthfully, probably not- at least not substantially.

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The Bigger Picture

I knew that being an artist was hard. I just didn’t know how hard. Perhaps I was naïve.

One of my earliest newsletters!

The world has changed so much over the last 16 years.

The economic recession has still left its mark. The wealth gap and soaring rents have affected the economy in meaningful ways. The internet has inexorably changed the artworld. And then there was this little thing called COVID!

My art has changed, too.

From my initial series of Vintage Snapshots, I moved to the tempestuous world of Film Noir, and then onto my exuberant exploration of Archeology. Over 16 years, I’ve created around 450 salable pieces of art, and sold roughly half of them.

And I have changed.

I was approaching my 40th birthday when I started- now I’m 56! The man who was then simply my boyfriend is now my devoted husband. I’ve lost both of my parents. And I’ve gone through that infamous hormonal transformation that compels every woman to experience a fundamental shift in perspective.

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I’m unbelievably fortunate. I have love, support, fun activities, and close relationships with family and friends. In truth, I have an absolutely wonderful life- the question is: how do I want to spend it?

I do know one thing: I want to keep creating.

A page from my journal.

My work has gotten more personal as the years have gone by. More personal, and frankly, better. My direction may not be to everyone’s taste, but its complexity and depth has grown with experience. I am a better artist now than I was 16 years ago, and I intend to get better.

In the meantime, I’m deeply exploring what drives me to create—the "prime mover" behind my art. My hope is to eventually be fully aligned with that force.