A Thick Skin

Do you ever face an emotional issue and find that you are lousy at dealing with it? I had that happen with my art this week and I had a meltdown. I was hoping to see someone and be recognized for my presence as the "artist" Instead I was totally ignored, my presence was not even acknowledged. I was really offended that I wasn't even noticed. I am old enough to have developed a thick skin when it comes to rejection, so why did this hurt so much? I have been selling my work for quite a while and figured that I had faced all the obstacles an artist faces early in his art experience. But I was wrong. I was so upset that I questioned why I was doing art.Why do I create? I know that my work is still amateurish and probably will never be collected.I like to draw. I like to paint. I like the "idea" of being an artist. But I never thought that being rejected would hurt. I guess I was wrong. I do the blog thing because I would like to write more about a subject that I truly love. Art is incredible. And perhaps that is why I do it. But I think that there is a part of me that will never get used to rejection of me and my work. And perhaps I need to develop a thicker skin towards those who don't really care about me and my art.