Congratulations! You've created your first work of art. It took a lot of time and effort and thought. It looks good and may even flow from deeply personal memories and feelings. Feels good, doesn't it?
Now what?
Do you stow it away like the reclusive photographer Vivien Maier? Show it to friends? Look for exhibition venues? Post it online?
For many artists, creating new work is the easy part. Putting it "out there" is harder and writing the dreaded "artist statement" is harder still. Is your hubris showing? Will people think your work is unoriginal or clichéd or complain that they just don't "get it."
Véraison
Which brings us to this image of red wine grapes from the Nashoba Valley Vineyards. The grapes on these two clusters (and only these two) had ripened so unevenly that the full spectrum of colors (green, yellow, orange, red and purple) were on full display. When I visited two days later, they were all purple.
It's the first photograph that I ever submitted to a juried show -- and was selected for! To this day, I also worry about all the usual criticisms and rejections but apparently that first taste of affirmation was all the encouragement I needed. ;-)