The Artist's Dilemma: Sharing Your Art vs. Sharing Yourself on Social Media

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That's me posing with my Sky Full of Stars canvas print in a snowbank—squinting, freezing, and questioning my life choices. Despite being Canadian born and bred, I'll confess: I hate snow and cold. FYI - I'm wearing a heated jacket! Give me a mild winter with green grass any day.

Just last week, we had exactly that—until overnight dumped a blanket of white across the Greater Toronto Area. It brought back memories of growing up in Northern Ontario, where we once got about 1.6 metres of snow in 2-3 days  (that's over 5 feet , 2 inches for my American friends). One storm dropped a metre in 24 hours, causing a shopping mall to partially collapse and shutting down schools, transit, and highways. It snows...a...lot. Highways are often closed for accidents, storms etc. Living in the GTA now, I'm grateful for milder winters—though I was mortified in the late '90s when Toronto called in the army for a snowstorm. Up north, we would've just grabbed a shovel and carried on, drive in the ruts of the road. These days, I count down to March and dream of setting out my lawn furniture in May!

Finding the Balance Between Art and Personal Storytelling

I've gotten a lot advice from other people: "Put yourself out there with your art." But as Elaine Benes from Seinfeld wisely said, "People are the worst!" Full disclosure—I'd much rather let my artwork speak for itself. I'm a private person who doesn't love sharing everything online, but I'm learning to strike a balance between showcasing my Canadian landscape art, experimental Oh-Canada Collection or  psychedelic illustrations,and sharing what inspires it—without airing all my personal laundry.

Instead, I'm connecting the dots between my early childhood doodles (heavily influenced by monster movies, cartoons, and Mad Magazine) and the fine art I create today. It's about authenticity without oversharing, inspiration without invasion.

Also, the world could just less snow banks? No? (-:

Stay in wonder!

SLay