I had a dream the other night that caused me to pause. In my dream a question was raised asking “What is the most important element a painting should have?” The answer surprised me as the answer was…..CHARACTER. Character? I could have thought of several other answers that would be more meaningful! I have been thinking about this answer ever since. Why character and exactly what is character when it is applied to a painting?
I looked up the meaning of character :
distinctive qualities: the set of qualities that make somebody or something distinctive, especially somebody’s qualities of mind and feeling
positive qualities: qualities that make somebody or something interesting or attractive
reputation: somebody’s public reputation
After reading these descriptions I was floored by its accuracy to painting a successful painting and being the artist we all strive to be. We all want our paintings to be distinctive, different, interesting, attract a viewer and possible buyer plus we want our paintings to be recognized by “our style”.
But the most important thing stated here about character is how it applies to us as artists. It is our personal qualities of mind and feeling that set us apart from the rest. When our mind and spirit are free from judging, gossiping and being envious of others success…or even worse, being happy because of their failure….. we are free to be who we really are. We have CHARACTER!
Take this week and think about not only how you produce the character of your paintings but the character you project while painting.
