I would like to be more of a mysterious artist. You know, the kind that makes people who look at their art… just a little bit confused. Or the kind that makes thoughts and questions pop into people’s minds when they view the art.
There is just something about that that draws people in and makes people ponder about life in a different way. I think some of my art has potential to be that way.
I started thinking about this idea more after one of my recent markets. A man and a woman were walking around my booth, seemingly enjoying taking in the views at an easy pace. They asked me about what inspired me and I told them my inspiration mostly comes from processing the contrast of being raised in rural PA and now living in Columbus, Ohio. They were satisfied with that explanation and continued looking slowly. The man locked eyes on a painting that I made last year, a painting that I really enjoyed, but never knew if others would. He said with the most sincere words, “Tell me about this one.”
I was so excited! No one had ever really taken an interest in it before. I replied, “When I was in high school, my little brother and I were looking out over the dock at our pond in PA. I was going around trying to take artistic photos and I thought it would be cool to capture our reflections in the water. This is a painting of the picture I took.”
I was a little nervous to hear what he would say next, if anything at all. But to my surprise, he said, “I like that. I can just tell that there is something different about this one, like you know there must be a story behind it.”
I felt so seen. I felt that my art was actually creating deeper meaning and understanding for someone.
Someone bought the painting online a couple of days later. I don’t know if it was the man who saw it at the market, but I hope whoever owns it now can pull meaning from it every time they look at it.