Sometimes we painters exist in the very shadows from which our paintings are born. The spotlight shining elsewhere while we focus on the work and breaking through. These are all choices we must make as artists. Is it the work or the recognition we seek? For me, it's the work. It's all that matters.
I'm too busy prepping canvas, trying to stay warm, or simply seeking more hours to paint to worry about the surface stuff. There is a true struggle in the life of a painter — but the work, it's everything.