Eye of the beholder?

I have been doing a lot of thinking about art this week, what it is, what it should or should not look like and how to make sure you have a product that people will like.

I have heard from some amazing artists and almost all have had rejection of their product at some point or other, be it music, paintings, or photography. Art is subjective, it's part of the mystery and wonder of it.

As an artist I have a style, I work within those parameters and I hope that people like what they see. Realistically I know that there are some who will not like my style, who will see it as less than, or lacking... I know this in my head but when I hear, it hurts my heart.

My art is my way of communicating beauty, my way of showing you what I see, how I see, how I feel when I see something or just generally how I feel. Like a softly sung song with powerful words; my photos are meant to inspire, they are meant to make you feel something too.

So, why is it that my heart and my head don't relate? Why is it that I know in my head that not everyone will see the same things and find inspiration, just as I hear some music and not enjoy it, or see a painting and wonder what it is? Yet, inevitably it causes pain.

I have come to a simple conclusion this week... my husband is always quoting Tim Keller to me, saying 'it's your failure to believe in the gospel'... it's become a joke between us now. We throw it back and forth and in many ways the quote has lost it's meaning. However, I have looked back at that quote this week and I am drawn again to it's truths.

God gave me an eye and a desire to use that eye to take pictures to tell a story or an emotion, it is not for you, it is not for the art world or the customer. It is simply given by God for me to use for His glory. I am created for his glory and if I can simply live into that knowledge, live into the powerful truth of the gospel then nothing anyone says, good or bad, will matter at all. My heart and eyes will be seeing glory, not fame.