It’s quite common for people to ask me what it feels like to part with a piece of my art. The answer is complicated, because I truly do fall in love with my paintings. Each one captures a moment in my life—a memory, a feeling, a piece of my spirit translated onto canvas. Letting go is never simple.
And yet, there is a different kind of joy in seeing someone else connect with that same piece—loving it enough to invest their hard-earned money to make it their own. That exchange, that shared appreciation, is deeply meaningful to me. I try to document that moment—the photo at the top features author, researcher and art collector, Brené Brown, pictured with me and one of my paintings she purchased entitled, “Badge.” These snapshots are special and a nice reminder of why I share my work with others.
I often think of a quote by the French artist Marcel Duchamp, who said that when a work leaves the studio the artist relinquishes his or her hold on how the work will be seen and interpreted; and moreover, all of those different interpretations will eventually constitute a works meaning.
So my paintings go out into the world and find homes I could never have imagined. In some ways, it feels like a quiet form of immortality. And yet, there is always a sense of mystery. As an artist, I never know how a future owner, or even the next generation, will experience the work, care for it or connect with it.
It reminds me of placing a message in a bottle and setting it adrift. Who will find it? What will it mean to them? Will it resonate in ways I never intended?
Ultimately, I’m at peace with that uncertainty. Because if a single piece invites even one person to pause, see nature differently, or feel something new—then I know I have succeeded.
In art and light,
Gay Gaddis
Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.
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