Gallery Experience

When I started this blog back in February, I posted a photo of a painting of a house in old town Tustin that I was hoping to enter into a show at a gallery in Tustin.  The requirement of the show was that the subject matter of the painting had to be something in Tustin.  So, last week, I took my paperwork to the gallery and was told that I could not put my painting in the show with a "NFS" (not for sale).  I was also told that I had to price it low because I was an amateur and that the gallery would keep 50% if it did in fact sell.  Yes, I am an amateur - I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of.  And I am not ashamed of the fact that I put my heart into my paintings - and become attached to a few that I am particularly pleased with.  The gallery owner told me that as an amateur I would paint a lot more paintings and it was better to get the "gallery experience".  Maybe I am just not ready for the "gallery experience".  I like to compare painting to a photographer who sometimes takes 200 photos before he gets that one photo that he is really proud of.   Yes, I will paint a lot more paintings and grow as an artist, but if there are a few that are special to me, I will continue to enjoy them and only part with them when I am ready.
Here is the painting of the "House on C Street".
Linda