Sharika Roland

The reason people pay a lot of money for original work is because it is close to the spark. The spark is the mysterious place where all things are invented,discovered, or created.
Before in the universe there was not this painting and now there is this painting.
It does not matter how good of a copy you can make of someone elses work, it will never never never have the value of the original.
The spark is the thing, and it is the only thing.
All skill aside, a new thing that no one has done before is important.
That is why original art is expensive. It has to be.
There are more ways than one to be expensive.
It is expensive to the artist too. They can never do it again.
I am doing some works on paper for the gallery right now that will be more affordable.
I thought well I will just do some redo of older paintings that sold before.
Now comes the expensive part. I have to make new pieces because even I try to  duplicate the first one the feel is not the same. I have to make a new piece.
I am the one who made the first one and I cannot duplicate it.
You would think if anyone could it would be me but that was a moment in time and that time is gone and I have to move on.
I can never bring that time back and with it that spark.
that is why art is expensive. You never get that moment back.
Prints of art only are a shadow.

Work should be a pleasure to do. It should feel good to get your hands in the dirt and pull weeds, The water should feel good when you wash dishes.
I love to paint. I love to slide in color after color and watch what emerges, I love to look at my subject and look for loveliness and a beautiful line.
I love to draw that beautiful line and try and absorb it through my fingertips.
All work should be a joy. Now
Quite a few years back I do not think work was as readily enjoyable. Cutting the heads off chickens to eat== well that must have been more of a chore but I bet there were things that they had that we have lost.
Long letter writing with a beautiful quill and an ink well.
Cream on raspberries.
My Grandmother on my fathers side had an extremely hard life.
Work from early morn to late at night. She had such a big garden and load of clothes to make and bread to bake and kids to care for. She loved her hard work garden the best and she certainly never complained about canning 200 quarts of fruit every year.
She said she was grateful to even have a tree that produced fruit.
We should all be grateful for all that we have and think about it more.
Love what you do today and no matter what it is. Work is a gift.

When I lived in San Francisco, I met a woman who had just come for a two week visit.
She was from New York and wanted to check out S.F. I never saw anyone go to town on learning all she could about a place in just two week. It was like a job. She worked at it and the result was she knew more about it than me in two weeks than I knew in Ten years.
There are two ways to live somewhere. One way is to just make yourself comfortable and do what is easy and the other is to get involved with people who live there and find out what you can do to be a part of what is going on.
I would say 90 percent of people just do their own life and that is that.
That is why 10 percent of the people control everything.
Everyone else lets them.
anyplace can be amazingly interesting if you leave your own life and connect the dots. Even little tiny places that seem of offer no attraction can become mind blowing wonders if you know a bunch of people.
Take Soap Lake for example. There is not too much going on in the way of a first glance. But if you know the people who live there a lot is going on. A lot that you can take part in.
A place is not great because of museums and stores and big business. New York can be a cold lonely place in the midst of that.
A place is only a collection of Precious People with incredibly interesting stories to tell.
You only have to leave yourself behind and open your mouth and start asking questions. Here is the best question to ask that my husband asks of almost every person he comes in contact with-“What are you doing?” And he really wants to know. And everyone without exception is glad to tell him.
That is why we love love love love everything single place we live!

Sometimes things go so great that you think– what is going on? why is everything so easy.
It is like you don’t want to say anything because you might make it stop somehow.
Sometimes things go the other way but when they are going a good way and the sun is shining on your back and the love is in your life then well then it is pretty great.
Rejoice and get a lot of work done. Who knows how long the window will be open and when it is you better take full advantage of it.
Two things can happen. you can sit back and enjoy the ride , which is what most people do or you can strike out and grow into more than you were before.
Blessings are not doled out for no reason. They are tools to plow the field with not tools to lay around for.
Almost nobody thinks about this till the blessing is passed and now we are in work mode again. Then we look back and say”I had so much opportunity just a few minutes ago and now I lost it.
Youth is like this. Money is like this. God is like this.
Good Lord Child = Don’t miss what is maybe right in front of you. Now!

People sometimes don’t think art is for them. They will put pictures of the family on the wall and other things but not art from a gallery.
I am so sad if that happens as it is a great experience to go pick out art from a gallery and put it up. Nowdays galleries have all kinds of payment programs that make it possible for everyone to have a piece or two.
Let me tell you what happens when you pick out a special piece. You get in touch with what your style is and that believe it or not will affect a lot of other aspects of your life. First of all you will begin to see that style all over( just like when you get a new car) You will identify with that as your style and own it. What I mean by that is you will subconsciously absorb it into what else you like. Then it will change your brain to seek out patterns that you relate to the first one. You will grow in your capacity to see better. Art has the power to make you think about things that you may have forgotten.
I think it would be a great idea to have an art lending library so anyone could at least have some for a time and get what they can out of it.
Some things are too good to keep just for a few people.