Hi Teresa,
First things first- you are an amazingly skilled artist! Wowie zowie- who knew you could paint like that!! Your main problem is not being TG it is scaring off people from wanting to show you their paintings... ok just kidding, but really- wow.
Secondly, to second Helen, I think your dilemma is not a dilemma, just a matter of framing. And, getting to my point above, art groups are about feeling safe, and so yes it is perfectly valid and very generous to want to provide that safety to artists who are also struggling with gender in society, or any other minority experiencing minority stress- uh- any minority, that is. So yes it is identity politics, sort of, but it is also the same as any segmentation of the market for any activity into affinity groups.
If you want to start a group where all genders are welcome, that is a perfectly valid thing to say. You could ramp that up to say all people are welcome, no matter what race, age, religion, gender, sexual preference, etc you may identify with. I'd love to join a group like that- no pressure to be something, just a wonderful place to share conversation and art, where feeling welcome and included and not judged.
How about an art group for former military? why not- it is the same principle, and the wealth of shared experiences could liberate and inform the art more fully for each member.
