I realized a curious thing on Google earlier this week. I will most likely never pop up on the Google sidebar. (If you try it yourself, I am not the Salem witch.)
Before I go any further, I must clarify that I am not seeking notoriety, fame, or fortune. I just take my epiphanies (despite how ever random they may seem) very seriously.
Admittedly, I am one of those silly people who enjoys looking up peoples names on Google to see what they are famous for. I see a movie and I get curious as to who is in it, what they’ve been in before, or who they starred with. I hear a singer and I must see what they look like, their age, and height. Sometimes I start typing a random letter to see who’s name will begin to form first and then continue on from there.
On one such occasion, I wondered, what are the chances of my picture appearing? There must be millions of names stored on demand… surely mine could be too? Shockingly, a picture did show up! Horrifyingly, it belonged to a witch. When I specified my search to the correct Sarah Good, the blank to the side was not surprising.
Of course, I know I am just starting out. If I wasn’t Sarah Good, I wouldn’t know to look her up either. I thought, surely more established artists will appear to the side. I tested the idea by typing in some of my friends and most admired artists. This resulted in very little… with the exception of illustrators.
I did notice that famous illustrators, such as James Gurney and Peter de Sève, did get a place on the side. Since it has taken me over 3 weeks to digitally illustrate a simple, cartoon, children’s reader, I seriously doubt I have any similar successful future in illustration.
What scares me about this discovery is that whatever appears on the Google sidebar readily, are the things that people find most interesting and care about. Fine art does not seem to be high on the list for the vast majority of the human population. It looks as though I doomed to be not only faceless, but also uninteresting.
However, God has given me a desire to create and portray things with great meaning. Things that will touch people’s hearts. Whether or not my profession touches any viewer stumbling upon it, I don’t need to worry. As long as I am doing the Lord’s will, someone’s heart will be touched. Even is it is just my own. With Him for me, what do I need to worry for?
1 PETER 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
