Just A Check for $1.00

Yesterday, I took the time to go through a pile of unopened junk mail that had been piling up on the table in my entryway. I was on a cleaning frenzy and felt a slight annoyance as I started flipping through each unopened envelope.  How many trees are wasted each year so that this junk mail can be delivered to clutter up my home?  I know I receive my fair share of it. In the pile, was the typical credit card offers, AARP membership information (now that I'm 50), and other assortments of the same old same old. I sometimes don't even open them because it isn't worth the risk of getting a paper cut,  but one envelope in the stack caught my eye. I had never seen this company send me anything before and so I immediately assumed that my contact information had been sold on a list recently.

I decided to rip open the flap to see what this was all about and was shocked to find a check for $1.00 made out to me. I stared at the information, trying to understand what this simple piece of paper really represented. Slowly, the full realization began to come into focus. The note section on the check stated "Fineartamerica.com payment" and of course it was made out to me. After a few moments passed, I realized that I must have sold a note card on the Fine Art America website and this was my profit from that sale.

I've seen many business that have a framed a one dollar bill hanging up behind their cash register. This always represents the first $1.00 made when the business opened and also is a reminder of the vision of many more dollars to come, when finally, all the sweat and hard work begins to pay off.

Now, I think I will cash this check, but I might just hang a photo of it up in my studio as a reminder that someday my dream of being a successful artist just might come true. Such a small thing, but someone in Brownsville, Texas liked my painting "Little Blue Bird" enough to spend $4.95 to buy a copy of it on a simple note card. I believe this is a small confirmation that I am slowly heading in the right direction and with focus and determination, this will be the first of many checks to come.

 You can check out my work at Fine Art America by following this link:
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/julie-townsend.html