Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Mermaid's Smirk

approx. 14"x18"
oil on canvas




Yes, portraiture.

I'd like to use this post as a venue to open up a discussion:

Upon seeing this image, you may have said something like "oh, wow" or thought something like, "oh, she CAN paint". I'd like to ask you to think aloud in the comments section here and help me to understand what it is about a recognizable picture that catches us so instantaneously.

This is more than mere curiosity. I would like to get that same "ah!" from my abstracts, but I don't know yet what is the Ah-factor.

3 comments:

Soul Level said...

Isn't there something in our education training that says we tend to try to categorize the new that we experience by relating it to what we already know? I think that would explain why so many viewers automatically say things like, "Oh, It's a puppy," Or "I see an orange banana," when looking at an abstract.

Many viewers don't have the emotional language to look at an abstract and relate what they see to what they've experienced. Make any sense? It doesn't necessarily mean they don't have an emotional connection to the work, but rather don't have the vocabulary for talking about their reactions.

mrs. tioli said...

Wow, I hadn't thought about it as a verbal communication thing. I say "thing" because I don't have a word for what you're saying.

gap?

link?

Elis Cooke said...

i think it depends on your viewer... your abstracts make my heart dance!!! In general I respond to abstract emotionally.. whereas I can see the skill in realism, it rarely gives me that flash of feeling! So glad to have found your blog... was wandering and came across you... will be back! Thanks for the inspiration!namaste Elis.