DOES YOUR WORK HAVE THREE STORIES?
Caption – Beach Shadows - Noosa, currently available for sale
Does your work have three stories? (Blog by Mike Barr)
“Contrary to what some believe, paintings do have a voice. It may not be audible, but they speak just the same. Some of these visual voices are mere whispers; some shout at passers-by and others beguile the onlooker with a drama that demands attention.
This initial conversation with viewers is the most important one of all. Without this initial call for attention, chances are, the potential buyer will move on. The painting itself must speak and I believe this is something we must think about while producing it. The ordinary, the bland and the predictable may not be enough to grab the heart of someone who looks.
In a way, it is the first flush of love. We may not know much about the painting, the artist or its subject, be we know enough to want to find out.
This first visual contact has already formed a story in the mind of the viewer and it may be completely different to the one we had in mind when we painted it – it is something we have to run with!
Next comes the title.
The title can also make or break the spell that has already been cast by the painting. ‘Still Life No.3’ or worse still ‘Untitled’ immediately gives the impression that the artist had no time to be naming their creation or even worse, they just didn’t care.
It’s worth some time to come up with a title that encapsulates what the painting is. If it pertains to a particular place, it makes sense to mention it. It’s a question that most people ask because places are full of memories and some of them are treasured enough to buy.
A well thought-out title can be a story in itself, even in a few words.
The Extended Story
Galleries generally don’t present longer stories that artists may have of a painting and space might be a consideration here. If the chance presents itself though, it’s worth mentioning things that were too long to put in the title.
Some believe however, that the success of a painting depends on this long-form explanation and it seems to be a trend in the artworld. It can leads to empty verbosity in a lot of cases, were the text lives in a different world to the picture, or in some cases both are equally unfathomable!
If a painting depends on a paragraph or two to understand it, then the first two stories – the visual and title have failed. I know some best-selling artists that don’t deal with the big story aspect at all, mainly because their paintings speak – and as the saying goes - a picture is worth a thousand words!”
Happy Painting!