Leaving Paris

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I left Paris reluctantly. There was so much to do, to see and simply not enough time to accomplish it all. I'm hoping to get back there before I return to New York. I'm in Switzerland now and the weather is lovely. I'll leave you with a view of the sunset from my flat.

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Musee d'Orsay

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

The musee d'Orsay is not to be missed on any one's trip to Paris. The museum has been converted and restored from an old railway station and retains much of it's original architecture. It is situated on the left bank just across the Seine river from the Louvre and the Jardin Des Tuileries. If you are a fan of Impressionist paintings, this museum contains one of the finest collections in the world. You will find works by Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Pissarro, Cezanne, Corot, Degas, Gauguin, Renoir, Sisley and the list goes on and on. I was thinking of Van Gogh's life as I looked upon the painting he made of his small room in Arles, France, "La Chambre de Van Gogh a Arles", painted in 1889. I really respond to that piece, the color and energy are incredible. We've been taught that he led a tortured life and maybe that's true. But he had a passion for his work and that is tremendous reward in and of itself. Anyone looking at his work knows that this is true. 

Art is not created for recognition and success. It is created for itself. If recognition, money and success come, so much the better, but it isn't the goal. It does seem incredible that he was never recognized in his own time. His paintings have sold for some of the highest prices ever in the art market today. I wonder if he knows? Is he sitting at some cafe in the universe having a good laugh at all those who tortured him, misunderstood him and ridiculed him? I would love to think so. Many artists have all the same struggles today. Families that don't understand or support them. A market place that has no use for their work, and the difficulty of making ends meet. As an artist it's so hard to stick to your dream as practical realities present themselves endlessly. This is the usefulness of success, supporting yourself from your art, every artists dream.

L'amour

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

On my first day in Paris love was in the air. This is not an unusual event here. Everywhere couples show affection for each other without restraint. What is it about the French culture that inspires such intimacy? You find it in the young, the old and everyone in-between. There is something gentle about Paris. You can see it in the streets and hear it in their language, which is spoken gently, softly and politely.

Paris, France

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow. I will be attending the Paris Air Show and experiencing other wonderful things French. After Paris I will be moving on to Switzerland. I will do my best to keep up my posts and communicate my experiences while traveling abroad.

Stepping Out

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Aren't we all afraid of stepping out? Leaving behind what we know, what is familiar and what is comfortable? To genuinely take risk? As an artist-photographer or any creative soul, if you want to make progress in the fine art community, you will eventually have to step away from your studio, your computer or your routine. Most artists are sensitive, intelligent, self-questioning human beings, which often makes this process more difficult and frightening. I think our biology works against "stepping out" as well. Biologically we have survived as we are, as we've been, we are a success because we are alive. So our programming seeks stability, balance and the status quo. We all know those exceptional few who are completely confident in everything that they do. I often wonder what makes for such self confidence? Is it that they were very loved and cared for as a child or the opposite, some form of compensation for being unloved and cared for? Either way, I lack such enormous self confidence in my work. But, I have found, that when one ventures out from the habitat one has made for oneself, life has an astonishing way of taking care of you. Life carries you where it will because you have become part of it. It is no longer you taking care all by yourself, you have the powerful support of life itself.

Ordinary Life

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Ordinary life, everyday things that need to get done, can be so demanding on one's time. I have often marveled at people who thrive on routine, living with certainty about their days, weeks and months ahead. By contrast, I have friends who practically destroy their lives in an effort to avoid anything that resembles routine and boredom. Then there are the rest of us, striving to achieve a balance between what needs to get done and our photography and art. Most artistic people simply want to make their art, do their work and not be involved in the "business of art". Of course, the business of art is necessary in order to thrive and continue as an artist. So how does one strike this balance? I think with patience and diligence. People don't seem to talk about diligence anymore. Diligence may be underrated but extremely necessary for success of any kind. To keep at something, experimenting, changing, adapting, but most importantly to keep doing the work. Diligence also implies the love of something. It's hard to hang in, if you're not in love. I've often had older, wiser people then I say, "if you do the work, hang in there, then the rest will follow". They just neglected to say if they meant to hang in there for one year, ten years or twenty?!

Review Santa Fe

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Review Santa Fe is a juried portfolio review event from June 4-7, in Santa Fe New Mexico. It is a weekend conference for photographers who have created a significant project or series and are seeking wider recognition. Up to 100 photographers meet with curators, editors, art directors, publishers, gallery and agency reps, and other market professionals. See the Review Santa Fe 100, here and congratulations to all.