The phone rang in the afternoon, and a very good painter and friend of mine, Jane Lombard, asked me if I had submitted anything to the announcement for the prestigious annual Art Salon at the Triton Museum of Art. I had missed the “call for art” and the deadline was 12 midnight that day. “Well, you better get on it!” said Jane. Instantly, a flash flood of reasons runs through my head as to why it is too late to pull an application together - my never ending to do list for the day, the grocery list, and chiefly, how would I pick the right one to submit for the show. The biggest block of course is the ego in the form of fear of rejection, especially when there is no assigned theme to the competition to guide me in my choice.
But to paraphrase the punch line of a joke my father in law once told me, “You can’t win the lottery if you do not buy a ticket.” Two other factors also pushed me forward: 1) the juror is local with a great connection to the art scene in the Bay Area, and 2) the prestigious show is hosted locally in art museum with fabulous architecture for displaying art. So with Jane’s and Ron’s voices and encouragement in my head, I picked a piece that has struck a really strong chord with my closest supporters as well as myself. Fast forward and I open the email of congratulations and find myself amongst the lucky 6% that were selected to be in the 119 piece show. ( I don’t envy the hard work it must have been for the juror Aly Gould, Executive Director of the Pacific Art League to choose from 2,100 entries.)
So my fellow artist, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you. And a good way to make it happen is to find yourself an artist posse that looks out for opportunities for all, refuses to let you sit on your laurels, and helps you develop ways to silence the inner voice of doubt when faced with a chance to hang your work with the other great artists of the Bay Area. It also helps to have a wife who is three for three in confirming the final choice to submit to the art museums of San Francisco Bay Area. And if it helps, think this to yourself, “Michael says ‘Go for it!’”
Hope to see you all at the Opening Reception on May 25, 2024. It is free to the public and the artists will be there.
Opening Reception at
2024 Salon at the Triton
May 25, 2024. 2-4pm
1505 Warburton Ave.,
Santa Clara, CA
It is a beautiful venue so the works will shine in this show. If you can’t make the reception, there is plenty of time to catch the display of 119 selected works as it will be up from from 4/25/24 to 9/8/24.