I don’t need someone to see exactly what I see in a painting.
A shape might suggest a landscape to one person and a figure to another. Someone else may be drawn to the color without seeing a recognizable subject at all.
I’m interested in that room for interpretation.
I make decisions about every painting, but those decisions don’t determine everything it can mean to someone else. People bring their own memories and associations to the work. They may notice a passage I hardly think about or overlook the one that held my attention.
Explaining too much can get in the way. Once a shape has been named, it can be difficult to see it differently.
I would rather talk about how the painting developed than tell someone what they should find in it. There is no hidden answer they need to uncover before they can enjoy looking.
Sometimes a color is enough to make you stop.
What you discover after that is yours.
