“Perky is a lifestyle choice,” my dad will occasionally say.
And, by golly, this man lives by his words. He whistles while doing the dishes. When I broke one of his Ancient Egyptian relics (while pretending I was a helicopter, obviously) he mused that ‘kids will be kids.” I even once heard him impersonate Elvis going through puberty to get my mom to laugh. And I’ve only seen him lose his cool once – the day I carelessly tracked dog poo onto his freshly-cleaned carpets.
When you grow up in this type of environment…becoming a tortured artist isn’t really a viable option.
Not that I didn’t give it a shot. I once spent a few weeks crafting a dark, moody and introspective self-portrait – full of surly colors and jagged edges. You won’t see it here on my website because it’s still sitting half-finished in the closet. Yeah, I just couldn’t get that into it.
So, I’m ready to make a declaration.
Here it is. My pet portraits are peppy. They’re happy, and sweet, and (dare I say it) sometimes even cute. Depending on who I’m painting, my work can also be mischievous, soulful, inquisitive, lazy, regal, sensitive, sly, wishful, dignified, or ridiculous. But never sad, never dark, and never angry. And I’m okay with that.
I’m okay that these portraits don’t express my deepest fears for humanity. That they aim to make you smile instead of making you question the world you live in. Not that there’s anything wrong with dark, disturbing art. In fact, some of my most meaningful memories have been visiting humankind’s greatest artistic masterpieces in museums around the world.
It’s just that real art doesn’t have to be dreary; it just has to be honest.
There’s nothing wrong with choosing to surround yourself with color, texture, and images that bring back happy memories (and saving the darker stuff for the art museums.) It doesn’t make you less interesting. And it certainly doesn’t make you less profound or less real.
It just makes you, well, perky. Which is just fine by me.
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I love this. So many great pearls of wisdom, I love that you said art doesn’t have to be anything but honest. Love it. And it’s great that your art is a reflection of you; a bit of your soul spilled onto canvas. Oh, and love the new site design.
Thank you!
What a wonderful sentiment! Also, that portrait of Sparky is amazing. You capture him PERFECTLY! And I should know, given how many times he’s given me that look. Thanks Adriana.
Thanks for the compliment, Matt!
I can’t tell you how much I love this post. Makes me so happy to see you owning what your art is — apologetically perky. I also love the way your work/life is so obviously influenced by your upbringing. And lastly, the redesign is simply divine!
Unapologetically perky? Love it! That’s officially my new tag line
Um, and by “apologetically perky” I most definitely meant “UNapologetically perky”. Woops.
I SO AGREE! If you want dark and moody brought into your home, bring in a bit of bittersweet chocolate. You can sit and munch on the deep richness of life while staring into the adoring eyes of your dog’s portrait! (or the eyes of your real dog watching you eat, hoping you’ll share).
Haha, that’s right. Dark chocolate is better than dark home decor.
Hi Adriana!
So great to see you writing for yourself again. Love this post. Love the new site. Love the painting. Great work, as usual.
Smart dad – great wisdom! And yes, the portrait is cute too!