I took my first deep dive into Santa Fe recently. I lived in northern Arizona for many years while raising my kids and sadly never made it to Santa Fe. I passed it several times on my way to Colorado, but was never able to stop and see the art scene. I was told by another artist recently that Santa Fe was right up there with New York and LA for selling originals. I was not prepared for that and felt rather silly for never making it a priority.
For those who have no context, I started my career selling only originals, came across a large format printer, and fell in love. I learned to print and built my custom reproduction business. Most of my originals were either sold before I scaled my business, or are still in my art vault. I continued to paint new work, but held onto them, selling only the reproductions. Hindsight it was a choice out of capacity. I gave my energy to scaling and original art became secondary. This void has created a few things for me, the first being a comfort zone of reproductions, the second a lack of connection to the original art world.
This past year I have really focused on my original art. It is a different mindset, a shift in priorities. I had to remind myself how I got here. I have created new habits, painting more often and for me again, not for what may sell. With this new found habit I realized quickly I needed to rethink how I was going to sell my originals. I had started the original art website a few years ago, abandoned it, layered the originals in with my reproductions (bad idea). I finally recognized the commitment needed for the original work. It is different and holds a space of its own, a voice that is different, a website that is different, all requiring more of me to be present. As I have chiseled away at it I knew I needed a physical place to show my work. I knew it couldn't be connected to my production studio, that it needed to be the right combination. After learning about the Santa Fe scene we took a much needed trip. How did I not know there was so much contemporary art in Santa Fe? Unlike Dallas, there is such a concentration of galleries, united and working together, giving collectors a much needed reason to be there. Needless to say, I am now on a mission. Stay tuned, Santa Fe or bust.