Things people say

If you ever look at pictures that someone painted, and that person is nearby, and you're not sure what to say about their pictures, say one of the following: "Your work is fascinating," or, "Your pictures really make me think." Of course, whether it's true or not, you can always take the safe route and just say, "Beautiful work. Very unique."

But don't say this: "Your pictures are very interesting, even if a few of them are a bit disturbing."

That's what someone said to me several years ago. I had given her an album of my small pictures to look at, and that's what she said when she gave it back to me. I asked her what she meant. Which pictures were "disturbing?" She refused to explain. She said, "I'm sure it's just me. Forget I said that. I probably shouldn't have said anything."

Obviously I haven't forgotten that she said that. And here, a long time later, what she said came back to me for some reason, and once again I wondered what she could have meant.

About five years ago a friend of mine organized a small exhibit and asked a few other painters and me to give her several pictures for it. She told me to print out an "artist's statement" (ugh.... I hate those) that she could mount on foam board and stick on the wall next to my pictures. The only thing I remember about that lame statement was that I said that most of my pictures involved the resolution of conflict. It might have been one of the few perceptive things I've ever said about my own pictures, and it's as true now as it was then.

Then again, I also think most of my pictures  serve a memorial function, but I don't believe that's irreconcilable with the bit about conflict resolution. And it might be that my belief in that function is one of those unconscious motivations for plodding along on pictures like the dark rhythm blossom picture I've been at for several weeks. (Note to myself: I find that I've started thinking of this picture as a "night song" picture. I have a couple other pictures that I call "night song" pictures, but they have nothing in common with this blossom picture, at least in terms of their appearance. Maybe I'll post pictures of them if I get around to finding them in my computer.)