Why I pulled out of galleries - Lessons I've learned as a professional artist

When I first got into galleries, I thought that it was my golden ticket to success as an artist. I was lucky early on to show in some reputable galleries. The fact that they gave me the nod of approval justified my efforts, and my decision to become an artist. When I started to show with galleries they had nothing but praise for my work and promises of big sales, interested collectors and big shows to come my way. It was exciting and validating. It played right into my vanity and made me feel, to some degree in my naïveté, that I had become what I wanted to be. What I didn't realize was how preliminary and potentially fleeting these early successes were.
