Is this painting peaceful or lonely?
When you view a painting, you bring all of your past experiences, personality, expectations and current needs to the encounter. This is one of the reasons why different people can have vastly different reactions to the same painting.
I visited Middleton Place, an historical garden in SC, for my birthday one year and - well, I was taken with the whole place, it’s amazing - but one of the things that amazed me were these incredibly tall Brodie Juniper trees. So when I painted this tree, I put one of the many benches on the property nearby, to help show the scale. And I called it Middleton Sentinel.
After I showed Middleton Sentinel to a few of my friends, I found that my friends who were introverts, enjoyed time alone, or were stressed out and needed some peace and quiet saw this painting as peaceful and relaxing. It gave them great pleasure to imagine sitting on that bench, enjoying the peace and quiet. Whereas my friends who were extroverted, wanted more social contact, or lived very active and energetic lifestyles saw the painting as lonely and maybe a little sad. Both are valid and there is no right or wrong - it’s simply a reflection of our total experience and where we are in life at this moment.
So I painted another version that I called Middle Sentinel II and added a couple sitting on the bench enjoying the view over the river, along with a few other changes. My extroverted and active friends felt this was a more warm, inviting, and lively painting.
What’s your experience with these paintings?