I have always been a firm believer that throughout life we are given a series of road signs, which we can choose to pay attention to or ignore. Sometimes we see those signs, other times we miss them and it is only when we think back that we realize that they were there. I was very fortunate that a couple of years ago, I saw a sign that would change my life.
I had become a dad pretty early in my life and my daughter totally changed my outlook on life. I was a struggling painter back then, selling bits and pieces on Facebook, a far cry from the millions which I had dreamed of making. After the brith of my daughter I decided to give myself another 6 months to try and become a money making artist, and if I failed I was going to look for a more ‘normal’ job.
Exhibition of a Lifetime
I was approaching the final month of that 6 month period and I still hadn’t had much of a break, despite my hard work. I went to an exhibition of one of my favorite artists Peter Max, looking for a bit of inspiration. During the exhibition I got talking to a lovely woman about art and life, and later discovered that she was one of the agents who was working with Peter. This was when I saw the sign, I knew that Peter enjoyed helping young artists and so I took my chance and and asked the lady if there was anyway that she could organize a meeting between us.
ASAP
I had been expecting to perhaps have a meeting in some days, I was not expecting him to appear within an hour and come over to greet me. Peter was absolutely lovely and he was asking me about my work and what my inspirations were and things like that. I stole around 5 minutes of his time and then brazenly asked him if he could help me, I also told him that the clock was ticking, and I really didn’t want to give up the dream, I left him my number and he said he’d be in touch, who says that you shouldn’t meet your heroes!
Follow Up
From this moment, Peter was incredible, he introduced me to people who could help get my work into the public sphere and he even gave me a small slot on his next exhibition. My work shone through and people really loved it, all I ever needed was a someone to open doors and that was just what Peter was able to do for me. I managed to avoid getting that normal job and now I can paint, be happy and look after my family, all thanks to Peter Max, and all thanks to me seeing that sign in the road, and taking advantage of it
If you see that sign, go get it!
