This year I participated in the Ipswich Show for the first time ever! It made me wonder what took me so long to do it. I think a lot of it was fear that my work wouldn’t be “good enough”. Despite selling more than 85 paintings to people in Australia and around the world, and participating in a number of art exhibitions, I still struggle with imposter syndrome, and a part of my brain always tells me that I’m not a “real” artist, especially because this is not my full-time job.
I was really proud of myself for pushing past that fear and entering this year, and I’m so glad I did! I entered three paintings – Blue Reef Dreaming, Introspection, and Reef Dream 1.
I loved attending the awards evening, and looking around at all the amazing art by members of the Ipswich community.
I was surprised and thrilled to see my piece “Introspection” received a Highly Commended award.
I don’t think this will be my last time participating in the Ipswich Show – I’m already starting to think about what I should submit next year!