A reader who is an artist says he loves making art but worries that his work is not museum-caliber.

Matt responds:

All perception is between your ears.

What we perceive is very important to us as individuals, but to assume that the rest of the world is going to see things the way we see them, is a myth.  That’s why we get into so much trouble.

Words matter, feelings matter, color and religion matter, but when you mix all of that up inside a human being, it’s like putting us in a blender.  Turn the damn thing on and we don’t know who or what we are!

People don’t perceive the same way.  I would imagine before the Mona Lisa was declared a masterpiece, people would say, “Oh, that’s a pile of shit...  It makes me sad to look at her expression...”

And somebody else would say, “Oh, that makes me so happy, her smile!”

Some people think she’s pregnant because of the secret in her smile.  So some people would say, “If she had taken her birth control pill, she wouldn’t be in that situation!”

Other people would say, “She should have an abortion!”

There’s no end to it!

The reality is, who gives a damn about what “they” think?  I always ask, What am I going to think about it?

Every painting I ever do, before it goes out the door, I say to myself:  If this hangs in the Hermitage or the Louvre , would I be proud to have the name LAMB on it?  If the answer is no, I don’t sign it and I don’t send it on its way.

But if it is, I say:  Well, this is as good as I can do today.  I hope that tomorrow I can do better.  So I sign it, give it a kick in the ass, and send it on its merry way.  If people like it, hurray hurray, and if they don’t, then that’s just tough shit.

Matt