Earlier this month, 15 of my original paintings went to their temporary home at Cecy’s Gallery in Durham, where they’ll be available for purchase until the end of July.

I’ve been a creative small-business owner for ten years now, but I’m still floored every time a “reach for the stars” opportunity becomes a reality. In fact, I’m surprised by my manifesting abilities–that I made my dreams a reality.

That my paintings are for sale in a fine art gallery is HUGE for me.

Even though I’ve run my photography & fine arts business for nearly a decade, impostor syndrome has skewed my view of my worth as an artist.

Rewind to 18 months ago, when I said out loud for the first time, “Maybe one day I can sell my paintings in a gallery.”

I didn’t fully believe that I could do it at first.

At the time, the fine art world felt daunting and unreachable to me. The truth is, I felt overwhelmed by the hurdles of establishing myself as a painter after years of working solely as a wedding and portrait photographer.

I told myself these lies, fueled by impostor syndrome:

• Artists who sell their work have to go to grad school first to be legit.
• I’m not good enough at painting for galleries to represent me.
• I need to pay my dues before I can aim for the goal of gallery representation.
• Painting is a distraction; I should be content to “just” be a wedding photographer and make money that way.

And then something in me shifted. I started to question my inner critic. As I began giving myself credit for all the work I had been doing, my impostor syndrome faded.

I really dug into what it was to BE an artist and all that comes with it. The rigorous training, vulnerable sharing, and courageous risking. The nitty-gritty business management duties, and the wild emotional struggles that come with stepping into this kind of life.

And I saw that I’ve been doing this work all along–not just for the last 18 months.

For the last ten years, I was doing the work of an artist, even with the presence of impostor syndrome.

In fact, I was still very much an artist when:

• I lacked a designated space in my home to paint.
• My work didn’t sell
• I wondered how many photography clients I’d book for the year.
• I didn’t believe I was an artist.

Over time, I realized I didn’t need the external validation from a graduate program or artist guild in order to be an artist. I could, in fact, simply evict impostor syndrome from my psyche.

I’ve learned that in order to be an artist I had to not only create my work, but also to sell my work. Which meant I had to figure out prices. And feel confident enough to share them next to the art.

Over these last 18 months, I’ve leveled up in so many ways, especially with how I feel about parting with work that’s been along the journey of helping me recover from trauma.

To reflect these shifts and to keep my work in alignment with the fine art gallery market, my fine art offerings will be changing over the next few weeks as I increase my prices.

I couldn’t have reached this dream of being a gallery-represented fine artist without the support of you–my collectors and clients. Thank you so much for valuing my art and believing in me! Thank you for not seeing me through the lens of impostor syndrome, but seeing me for who I really am.

I’m sharing this with you because I want to make sure that as my VIP supporters in this, that you get first dibs on my work for a little longer before the general public.

Now go feast your eyes on your favorite works in my online shop, and let’s nip impostor syndrome in the bud!