"Life is full of choices," reads Sally French's Web site, and the Island artist has made good ones.

Born in Stockton, Calif., she now lives and works on Kaua'i in a studio big enough to handle her ladder-driven 5-by-10-feet drawings.

After years of creating work for 11 solo exhibitions and almost 50 group shows, teaching and curating, at fiftysomething, French makes her New York debut as part of the group exhibition "Back to the Fifties," on view at the Heidi Cho Gallery.

She's done all she can locally — on the board of directors of the Kauai Society of Artists since 1995, her work is in the collections of The Contemporary Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

French has been called the personification of Everywoman. Yet her provocative, in-your-face work isn't for Everybody. She builds up her painted surfaces with wax, then scratches and scrapes them. They include drawings and collages, and often comic characters — such as Olive Oyl and Mickey Mouse — communicate complex topics.

French illuminates, in her compassionate, street-savvy way, how she navigates today's art world.

Q. How did your work wind up in New York?

A. It started when (artist/art professor) Ron Kowalke looked me in the eye eight years ago and said, "You need to get your work out of Hawai'i."

From then on, it was really a series of causes and effects from being in juried shows to getting awards in national shows — and luck. My first path, after applying several times, was getting an individual artist grant from the HSFCA. I used the money to make a catalog and sent it out to museums. Now I have a Web site. At that time, I was aiming for New York or denser metropolitan areas because my work was starting to not reflect the sensibilities of our region.

Two years later, I was invited, from that catalog, to be in a national traveling show called "Comic Release," which published the first national hardbound book I was in.

Six years ago, I (went) to New York because I had never been there. I got the name of (and hired) a man there to look at my portfolio. He ... told me what galleries to go to. (When I returned a year later) none of those galleries were there anymore. ...

Then my friend Heather, who ... had her work at the Heidi Cho Gallery, introduced me (by phone) to the director Marilyn Rosenberg. I e-mailed images to her and asked if I could show her my work ... she agreed. I think everything I've done in my career has been through working with other artists — networking — and a lot of patience. I met six other artists in New York.

Q. Then what happened?

A. We set a date for a group show in January. This was last May. It's a different thing to be asked to be part of a gallery. You need to show in their group shows for a while before you become part of their roster.

Q. How many and what kind of works do you have in this show?

A. I have 13 pieces in the show. A large 5-by-10-feet drawing, four small oil and alkyd on wood paintings, and eight waxed drawings on antique matchboxes. I'm well represented.

Q. What was the best part of your New York debut?

A. Helping to adjust the installation the next day. There I was in Chelsea with an electric drill, drilling a hole in the wall. That felt real to me and comfortable.

But you know, it doesn't stop there. I'm also trying to sell for the gallery by contacting people I know. This is my chance to help, be part of the team. I'm grateful my painting is featured in this show. When you walk down 23rd Street you see "Mending My Wicked Ways" in the window. You see Olive Oyl. It's such a thrill, a dream. I credit Marilyn with being open to my work.

Q. What was the worst part?

A. Working on a theme that wasn't actually defined until a month before the show. They are so incredibly busy and can really only deal with one show at a time at a moment's notice. I had to be really flexible.

Q. What's up next for you?

A. I'm going back to work on my "sugar soup" series, and I'm going to begin another body of work. I'm committed to a show at Balcony Gallery (in Kailua) next January. At the same time, I'm going to start looking for residency programs and research the grants and programs in the New York area that give artists space to work — I want to do some ambitious installation work.

Q. Do you write your own grant proposals?

A. Pretty much. I put it out there and I've won a few. The most important thing is to write it in your own voice and keep it simple. Sometimes it's better to physically describe your piece rather than your esoteric reasons for doing it. I've also been on the HSFCA advisory panel. I've looked at hundreds of proposals so I know what it feels like to read them. You want to read something that's less verbose and more succinct and interesting.

Q. Do you have advice for artists looking to show on the Mainland?

A. At every stage of doing my work, I've had an opportunity to be in a group show and I took it. Doing group shows and networking with other artists is the most important part of it. ... I don't think showing your work cold to galleries works. Having an introduction is really important. Be courteous and patient. Everyone wants to work with someone who wants to be on the team and is willing to work hard. There is no place for defensive thinking.

And you have to recognize that a lot of it is luck, too. Careers are made on one person liking you. You may not even know who that person is. You may start something that you may not reap for two years. It's important to have a contact number, a Web site. You need to build yourself up regionally before you can go out there. The best place to do that is in school. Get that master's degree. ... Critical thinking is important.

Q. What do you mean by critical thinking?

A. Keep trying to break the rules. I look at everything from my surface to presentation and stripping it down to refining it. If my edges are showing, they have to have something to say. New York has no tolerance for poor craft. ... A lot of times I will trash a piece if it is not working. Artists don't make their own work sacred. We reserve the right to use it again as base material. ... You constantly have to figure out why you are an artist and why you do the work you do. You have to be doing it for higher reasons. Everyone can recognize sincerity and greatness. That's why you have to hone what you are doing. You can't be doing it for sales or fame. Those are empty pursuits. And of course you have to have fun with your work. We're all art addicts. We get a buzz from art. You have to go out and be with the people who love art.

Victoria Gail White's artist interviews run the last Sunday of each month.