Patty Rodgers

I would say perseverance and stick-to-itiveness. With music and art, you have to have self-motivation. Through my whole life, there was no guarantee that this was ever going to come to anything. People tell me now that I'm so lucky I can be a private teacher and teach guitar lessons, but I know my craft because I've been practicing for so long. I spent many years alone in my studio, working on my vision, entering juried shows, sending slides to galleries, and getting rejection after rejection after rejection. It's like being a writer from what I understand - they get rejected too. But I just kept keeping up with it, because when you're an artist, it's just in you. You can't not do it. It's not really a chore.

If you want to be an artist, you really have to take it seriously. Go to classes - not necessarily college, but take as many classes as you can. And draw all the time, from life, not from photographs. Develop a portfolio, set up your work, look at it, and see what's happening. Notice what's starting to gel as your vision, and stick with that. It's all about decision-making - learning how to make choices in your work. And while you're doing that, find something else to do to make a living so you can support yourself while you create. That's what I had to do. Years ago, I went back to school for a teaching certificate and taught in public schools and private schools for a while, all while raising a family. Nobody said it would be easy, and it wasn't. And it still isn't.

The biggest challenges are getting inundated by people who just want my money. I think artists are vulnerable to scammers because they realize artists are desperate to show their work. There are all these vanity galleries that will exhibit your work for a pretty high fee, and if you're with someone in Europe, you don't know what you're getting or if they're really showing your work. Even ones in the United States - I've had experiences where I'm pretty sure they just wanted extra people to help pay the booth fee at big art shows, because they're thousands of dollars. They may have their stable of artists that they promote and sell, but they'll invite outside people to help pay the booth fee. Every day I get emails for this show, that show, exhibit here, exhibit there. Some of them work out well for me. There's one in New York City right now that I've done a couple of shows with digitally - they exhibit your work on a screen in a public square, and the fees are relatively low, so something like that is okay with me. I'd rather do the local ones. Every year now, I'm doing the Other Arts Fair in Dallas, which is affiliated with SatchiArt. I like that because I can do it in person, talk to people myself, promote my own work, and it helps me get better known locally. You have to be very careful about finding out about these opportunities and choosing the ones that are going to work for you. And then there are the big galleries - a lot of artists call them gatekeepers. They're picking and choosing whose work they're going to show and promote.

Perseverance is at the heart of everything I do, both in my art and in my personal life. I value dedication, discipline, and a commitment to continual growth, whether that means spending countless hours in my studio refining a painting, practicing my guitar, or connecting with students and collectors. I also deeply value authenticity and integrity, striving to create work that is true to my vision while building meaningful relationships within my community. Curiosity and a willingness to embrace challenges guide me, allowing me to explore new techniques, mediums, and ideas, and to approach every opportunity with patience, resilience, and passion.