Two Little Artworks

Lily Flower © Toni Parras, Hibiscus Studio

May 21, 2025

Years ago, I bought two small gyotaku prints from fisherman and artist Jim Roberts at an outdoor art fair somewhere along the southeast coast. One is of a pair of pink shrimp and the other a blue crab. Both are matted and set in small gold leaf-painted wooden frames. I adore these pieces. They are hanging in my bathroom just next to my mirror so I see them every day. They make me feel good. Even after all these years, I never tire of looking at them, and the pleasure of seeing them and exploring their details never diminishes.

I read somewhere that you should only buy art that will appreciate (financially speaking) over time, as an investment. I get that, I do, but for many artists, creating artwork is about something else—expression, passion, pure pleasure, an uncontrollable drive. That’s what it is for me. When I’m painting, I experience ‘flow state,’ which Google defines as “a mental state of intense focus and immersion in an activity, often referred to as being ‘in the zone.’ It's characterized by a sense of effortless engagement, where time seems to disappear, and the person feels completely absorbed in the task at hand. In short, flow state is a state of optimal experience where a person is fully engaged and energized, feeling a sense of joy and satisfaction in the process of the activity.”

That’s exactly what painting is for me. And the joy of my creation I hope is matched by the viewers’ joy in seeing it. So while my artworks—like the shrimp and blue crab gyotaku prints—may not appreciate (monetarily) substantially over time, I like to think that the pleasure they evoke is (to riff off the Mastercard campaign) - priceless.