An artist paints for an audience. Sometimes, it might be an unexpected audience. An audience that you don’t expect would be particularly interested, let alone would praise your work. On the last day of the spring exhibition this year, about half an hour before closing, there appeared two young men. They were about fifteen or sixteen, and they were the typical image of very fashionable, very young people. Complex, asymmetrical haircuts. Bangs that covered their eyes. Extremely tight pants, and elements of bohemian carelessness in the rest of their look.
I’m not sure what fortune brought them so close to the little houses I’ve painted. I can more or less see them at a minimalistic exhibition, with white walls and teeth of animals that died in fires scattered about. (I’ve just come up with that concept off the top of my head. I find it quite dramatic.)
The two guys spent quite some time examining my paintings. They even had a discussion about them! These are the kinds of phrases I’ve heard.
“See, over here, she takes a lot of yellow, and puts a purple line next to it, so it stands out.”
“The atmosphere – I like the atmosphere.”
I was worried about scaring those two art-loving butterflies away. I really regret that I didn’t end up speaking to them.
When they were leaving, one of them said, “You’re very cool”. The other one just nodded.
That exhibition was very successful for me. I’d sold several paintings. However, the most priceless aspect of that experience for me was finding the strongest motivation that an artist can have – knowing that I have an audience.
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