It was a bitter sweet day. After years of building a collection, hundreds of miles hiked, thousands of dollars and weeks of hand matting and handcrafting each frame, my collection was going up in my first solo gallery.

To some, this is literally nothing big. To artists who have been in the industry for decades, they have hundreds of art galleries under their belt. But for me, who just began my professional career as a photographer in 2013, this was my first reach into the fine art world.

After working as a portrait photographer for 5 years, I decided I wanted to share my collection with others, and attempt for a art gallery. When I got the letter back accepting my art into this gallery, I was just blown away.

As my husband helped me set up on Friday, all I could think about was how bitter sweet this all was.

This marks a goal checked off my to do list. This marks a launch of something much bigger than myself and bigger than I ever anticipated. This is the first step of the coolest journey I have ever began.

As I sat in the middle of the gallery floor, staring up at my favorite pieces surrounding me on every wall, it was the highest high I could had imagined.  The stress from the last few weeks of handcrafting every aspect of the finished product was just gone. The worry about how each image will look hanging on the wall, how each image will look with the image next to it, just the worry that comes with putting yourself out there was gone. All of it was just so surreal.

It's bitter sweet because a piece of me, that I have been working on for years, is now out for display. This mean that it is the end of a chapter. This collection is complete, and I'm not sure what the future holds for me and my fine art.

Without a doubt, I think it will still include the wild horses- I just don't know how just yet. I am excited for some upcoming trips into various western regions that have their own communities and what I can create with what I find.

Until next time,

Victoria