Self-made, self-actualized and self-represented, Ashley Longshore just might be the most independent artist in America. Eschewing the traditional gallery system, she not only pockets 100% of the profits from her bright, bedazzled paintings, but also controls how her image is portrayed in the finicky art press.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just always believed in financial independence,\u201d she muses about her bold entrepreneurship. \u201cI just believed in capitalism. I have such an incredible team, and I love this new business model where we\u2019re traveling and doing pop-ups.\u201d \u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a soiree for Longshore\u2019s new temporary gallery at The Terminal at the Katy Trail (open through April 27),\u00a0attendees lined up to buy colorful canvases emblazoned with the likes of Dolly\u00a0Parton, Queen Elizabeth II or Audrey Hepburn, or snap up Longshore\u2019s giftable objects, such as a vase portraying the artist\u2019s hand flipping the bird. \u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Says the artist, \u201cThe people that have been drawn to my artwork love to have a good time, they\u2019re the kind of people who might end up dancing on a table late at night. They love color. They\u2019re not pretentious people at all.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Having a local shop selling everything Ashley is a rare treat for her fans, as Longshore relocated her studio gallery to New York three years ago after more than a decade in New Orleans. The idea of having a temporary space during Dallas\u2019 Art Month meant she could also be closer to family who live in town while getting to know her local collectors. While she\u2019s here, she\u2019s taking a limited number of portrait commissions and is donating a portion of the proceeds to a scholarship at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that Dallas is a city that supports the arts,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t want to just take; I want to give back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Longshore says she hopes the next generation can take a page from her break-the-rules book.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main thing is to know that people are going to reject you, they\u2019re not going to understand your artwork, and people are not going to like you. You have to have that strong inner voice that says, \u2018You got this, girl.\u2019 \u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n