It is so sad that art is at times considered a luxury, even superfluous. Governments, in an effort to trim the budget, all too often decide that teaching children about art is an unnecessary frill, and as a result art education is first to fall victim to the budget axe. This is a major mistake, as Leonard Bernstein explains.

The point is, art never stopped a war and never got anybody a job. That was never its function. Art cannot change events. But it can change people.  It can affect people so that they are changed … because people are changed by art — enriched, ennobled, encouraged — they then act in a way that may affect the course of events … by the way they vote, they behave, by the way they think.

Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor.

When I first began making watercolor paintings of orchids and selling them at shows, it was very exciting to see that people liked my art well enough to actually pay money for it.  Because I believe that we always have to give something back for success we enjoy, I began the practice of donating a percentage of my sales to organizations which support habitat conservation.  Gradually this did not seem enough, and I made the sweeping decision that 100% of my gross sales would go to conservation.

As soon as I did that, I found that I was enjoying the process a lot more. Because I am not asking for anything that benefits me financially, it is much easier to ask people to buy my paintings.

I see the process of raising money for conservation as a partnership.  I provide the art, the materials, the cost of creating the prints and the costs associated with being a vendor at an orchid show.  My clients provide the cash for the transaction.  Then the money goes to an organization which conserves and protects natural habitats.

I see this as a win-win all around, don’t you. By having one of my orchid watercolors in your home or office, you will have a constant reminder of the great kindness you paid the earth.