About Perception

Does anybody see what I see? Sometimes. Not always.

I suffered some performance anxiety before opening my studio recently for a local event. The feeling was much the same as the days before opening a gallery show but there was some additional cause for concern this time. I was dedicating much of the space for viewing my work to my new giclée prints. I would be lying if I said that the response of my audience was of no import. The truth is that I don’t know what I have done until it bounces off friends, family and strangers, and I dearly want the work to be embraced. I would probably continue in the same vein without that desired encouragement but it’s definitely a more difficult path.

During the two very pleasant weekends of playing hostess in my workspace, the response to the giclées was unreservedly positive. I had expected some rebuff because of the bias against technology in art. I guess I need to have more faith in my audience.

I am a harsh critic of my own work and I don’t always see with an objective eye. I can do so after a certain amount of time has passed and then I usually I think I can do better. To paraphrase Abe Lincoln: “You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time.” I would add to that: Sometimes people surprise you.

The image above is Mini Diptych ©2010, Giclée Print, size varies. For information about any of the paintings on this site, please email Joan.