Do I miss my artwork when it sells?

Over the last few weeks, I have been inspired to create a bunch of new mixed media pieces—as usual, not knowing where they were headed, simply going with the flow. Starting with a base coat of metallic gold acrylic ink (oh, how I love the luminescence it brings to each piece), and layering colours, book pages, marks, and sketchy illustrations until the piece says “I am complete”.

Sometimes, I share the journey of a new piece on Instagram and Facebook so folks can follow the process. It’s fun to create with an audience—feels more collaborative in a way. It also gives people a sneak peek into what’s coming to my gallery + shop. In the past few weeks, three new pieces haven’t even made it that far (Little Darlin’, Here Comes the Sun, and Twilight, featured here)—they’ve been declared sold before the varnish is dry!

Wait, what!? You want to buy it… already? But, but… It’s not finished! It needs a few more tweaks, and I still need to varnish it, and, and, and…

I’m not ready to say goodbye to it yet!

As excited as I am to sell my artwork, especially so quickly, it does feel bittersweet at times.

On the sweet side, saying goodby to my artwork means:

my work is speaking to people
the piece will bring smiles + joy to somebody else
I’m on the right creative path
my art business is viable
my bank account will be a little bit happier

On the bitter side, sending my artwork off to its new home feels kinda sad because:

each piece really does become a little part of me
I like to study each piece—which part or technique I enjoyed most, what I can try again, or differently
they all have special memories for me—where I was in my mind + heart; the music I was listening to; anything I was going through at the time
each piece has its own personality, and sometimes they feel like friends… we’ve been through a lot together!