Integrity.

Art and being an artist holds no guarantee of understanding.  Creators must live with the fact that the more challenging the idea or expression, the tougher the road to acceptance by the world.  Couple this challenge with an acerbic personality and the demand for unquestioned acceptance and you’ve made your life as a creator tougher.

Art doesn’t exclude a sense of humanity and humanity never was, or will be, art. Artists must stick to their guns and live with themselves or compromise their integrity for the sake of appeal.  A creator can’t ever expect to have it both ways. Ever. Ask Caravaggio, Van Gogh, or Modigliani.  Truth and beauty matter.