Stolen Art
Not once, not twice, but three times; what an experience!
Lesson Learned
I’m not proud of it, but it taught me a valuable lesson. The experience taught me that I am good enough. I am capable of making artwork desirable enough for it to be stolen right off the wall. My artwork is so desirable, that a human would steal it right off the wall to own it! I know, I repeated myself, but that’s how shocked and stunned I am by these turn of events. Getting my art stolen tells me one thing: I am becoming a great artist. William (Bill) Alexander, being one of my artist hero’s, puts it perfectly: “Everyone wants to make a happy little buck off their paintings.” Looking at my display and then seeing only an empty nail, is heart wrenchingly sad. Those 3 pieces I can no longer sell and make money off of. It really feels like a personal violation when your work is taken. Not a great feeling to start your day with.
Resiliency against stolen art
Resiliency: Noun, an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change. Sure enough a friend and I had been discussing this very word recently. Now it seems to be another lesson I needed to learn about my own art. Creating artwork that is relatable and brings joy to people, that is why I started creating art. I never even considered that at some point my art could potentially be stolen! How do I learn to handle this? How can I make a diamond out of this? By being resilient. I am going to change it into a shining moment. In one single piece of art that a human was overcome with their need so badly that they would tear it from the wall. I am just that good.
Upping my art game
Naturally, steps have been taken to prevent this from happening again so easily. I know these were rare events. I know how shocked most people have reacted when I have shared my story of thievery and woe. Now I am more aware of store camera angles and positioning paintings accordingly. I hold no one at fault of course, these things do happen. The lesson here is to create art that doesn’t fit so easily into a backpack. Next time I will be doing a few things prior to setup: 1.) Simply asking where the cameras are that are able to see my artwork. 2.) Hanging less art that is smaller or backpack sized. 3.) Being resilient at all costs. Learn from me kids, ask about cameras, ask to see the angles, and hang big art.
Be proud of your stolen art
This was definitely a teachable moment for me. It’s caused me to change how I setup my artwork in any new display settings. It was a very hard lesson, but I have learned it well. Now to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep on painting. I was just knocked off my proverbial horse as it were. That was an experience in life, business, and art. A lesson I do not want to keep on repeating. That “Empty nail” feeling has now become part of the biography that is my journey in art. Those three paintings had value to me and I created them with the same love and care I instill into all of my pieces. Now, as an artist, I am humbled by the dubious honor of having my art stolen. I am now more resilient to having this experience. Thank you for loving my art. Thank you to those of you who have purchased pieces of artwork through the years.