I got a message the other day from a woman saying she was disappointed to learn that "A Cotton Bride" was sold. She resonated with the painting, she said. She'd picked cotton as a child. Did I have any prints of it?
I called her back and we must have talked for an hour. I hope we keep in touch.
I sold "A Cotton Bride" too early. I had just finished it and was planning on entering it into a local show in a month or so. I was having lunch with a group of women who all take Pilates at the same studio. Someone asked what I was working on. I happened to have a picture of "A Cotton Bride" on my cell phone, so I passed it around. When it got to the end of our semi-circle, the last woman said, "I want to buy it." She let me enter it into the show before she took it home.
I know "A Cotton Bride" is an "inspired" piece, and the feeling it evokes is strong in certain people. It's very gratifying to in turn inspire someone else through my painting. I live for that painting that comes out of nowhere and makes you realize you were just the vehicle, not the creator. Perhaps "A Cotton Bride' is the first of a series, but every time I attempt another cotton bride picture, I am disappointed in it because it is a merely a shade beside the original.