Thinking Big: Alice in Wonderland.

Thinking Big: Alice in Wonderland Kickstarter.
by Alice DuBois

William Blake, Diane Arbus, Walt Whitman, Frida Kahlo…So many artists we love now had a real struggle just to make ends meet. We wonder how we could do without Arbus’s incredible, fearless eye and Blake’s luminous vision of the woes and exaltations of humanity. However, their realities were difficult: Arbus had to teach to make ends meet when she should have had free reign to take all the photos she could, Whitman had to spend his own money to publish “Leaves Of Grass,” and Blake spent his life in a constant struggle, never getting paid well and never really being appreciated. Now they are all hailed as geniuses.

I’m a painter, and certainly not a genius, but I feel a real kinship with these artists and all the others who were, and are, faced with the struggle of making a living and staying true to their vision. I’ve been painting for 19 years, nine of which have been as a full-time artist. It’s been a real trial trying to make work that I feel is truly from the heart. I’ve struggled to make work that at least strikes a balance between what I want to do “from the heart” and what I know I can sell.

It’s been truly difficult, especially in these sour economic conditions, to make a living. I started out hoping to be my own sales person, using new technology to reach art lovers without the help of a gallery. But what I’ve come to realize is that this is too hard for me to do on my own. After nine years of making minimum wage with art that I feel is worth much more, I’d like to turn a corner in my career and partner with a gallery.

In order to make a break from this cycle of just making small, sellable art, I have a Kickstarter project to fund the creation of several larger pieces. My hope is that these paintings will help me attract a gallery that I can partner with. My goal is fairly modest—$2,000.

These funds will afford me the time and supplies to make some larger work. As of May 7 I’ve raised half of my fundraising goal—and there are just two weeks to go. I hope you will take a look at my Kickstarter video and my artwork and judge for yourself if my art is worth more than minimum wage.