Some dear soul found my website with the search inquire “How do you know that you are an artist?”–A poignant question. My guess is that if someone is already asking themselves that question, they are an artist.

The question I used to ask myself was “How do you know if you are a good artist? Is it just technical expertise, or is it something else?”

Almost 20 years ago I was able to answer that question.

I was given an opportunity to sit down and ruminate at length with a friend of mine about what I thought was a random group of paintings. What I discovered, after much thought and discussion, was that these were not a “random” group of paintings at all, but were actually an unconscious outer expression of a direction my life had taken. It was as if a light bulb had gone on, all of a sudden I realized that what I was painting was authentic and true. And ever since that time I’ve had a strong belief, despite a variety of circumstances, that yes indeed, I am a good artist.

Mary Baker