Dumb question
 

Why would an art critic (gallery owner) look at the surface of a painting at an angle? I mean a very sharp angle, almost skipping across the image sidewise under a very bright light. This happened to me today, she said "The Rose" was "beautifully executed" after this inspection. What was she looking for?

Jean

The texture of the paint - like how thick it is? I've never seen that myself before.

Checking out your shadow and highlight areas - I doubt she was looking for numbers under the paint! HA!

Maybe she wanted to see if your stretchers were warped.

Thanks for the feedback, I felt really strange while she was looking at it across the face instead of directly at it. There are multiple layers of glazing on her face and I felt like she was seeing all the layers and peering into my soul.

I thought maybe it was a common teechnique of inspecting for "something"?

Marvin, it was painted on a cradled wood panel, so no warped stretchers.

Beth,if you look really really close the numbers just barely show. ;)

Kim, maybe she was looking at brushwork, can anyone really tell how much paint is on a painting?

Jean

Jean it's funny to me you found it odd. I start each morning turning my work every which way and smoothing out the strokes I don't want yet.

Sometimes I go a bit too far and scratch, but I have become a painting plastic surgeon - practicing the art of botox on linen.

I would have been a bit intimidated. Sometimes when I'm pushing paint around, struggling with a color or shape, I feel like I've applied paint with a hammer.

The critic probably couldn't comprehend the quality of your work and was checking for trap doors or mirrors.

Beth, we're all plastic surgeons (but our patients suffer no pain)!

John, she declined to carry my work, so I don't think she was that blown away. But she will recommend me for portrait work and in particular my dogs! Said that she gets more call for dog portraiture than people (although very little of both). And I was intimidated.

Jean

Gallery
 

Gallery folks can do some odd things. You have to remember that most of them no nothing about art history, design or method. This sounds like some parlor trick that she was taught at some seminar. I've shown in 37 galleries and numerous additional shows and I have never seen this done. I don't do it. I can read the surface without doing a side scan. If you can't see this stuff straight on then why look sidelong at it?

Jean just from listening to others, I wouldn't feel bad if I was you about the gallery. From what I understand they rarely accept artist who do primarily portraits.

I had a gallery owner sniff one of my paintings once. I was painting on watercolor paper using liquid acrylics and I have to admit - the paper had a small odor.... :o

Thanks all, I guess I can put this to rest now.

Tim, I appreciate your comments in particular, if 37 galleries have never used this technique with your work, it must be unique to her.

Beth, I'm not devastated by being turned down as I've read enough here to know that galleries rarely carry portraiture. I do feel good that she will refer any portait work my way though.

Kim, how awful, and a little funny!

Jean

I've always wondered so maybe someone can tell me. Does watercolor paper usually have an odor? I dont think I noticed it until after I used the paint on it. It wasnt the thinned acrylics you can get now - it was the consistancy of ink. They didnt have a bad odor by themselves in the jars. It smelled like a paper factory. If you drive through parts of Maine you can smell that odor all around and it isnt pleasant at all.

The Arches watercolor paper I used to use definitely had an odor, especially when it was wet. I didn't mind it though.

Seems pretty bogus to me. I think it's the gallery equivalent of smelling the cork when the wine steward hands it to you--it means nothing, but somebody told you you were supposed to do it when you were about twenty, and you've been doing it ever since, and NOBODY knows why. I think Tim's equating it with a parlor trick is about right.

Any real artist could understand your technique just by looking at it, and any non-artist won't understand it anyway. She might just as well have tried to impress you with her boundless knowledge by looking at the back.

Don't ever be intimidated by someone who knows nothing about what you do and how you do it.

Love to all artists everywhere (you KNOW who you are)!
XXXOOO--TE

(KIm, sounds to me like a substance abuse problem!)

Galleries

I have a friend who owns a gallery and he readily admits that all he knows about art is that if he looks at a piece and feels as if he could produce it then he knows it's not good. That's it.

He is in the businesss to make money and he does that by knowing his customer base and providing the type of art and services that they want.

If he could make money by representing portrait artists, he would be doing just that. He sells a lot of Bob Timberlake and similar type works, some originals but mostly signed and numbered prints. Not a high end shop.

He does have a couple of my portraits on display but they just don't generate the interest.

I really didn't know that gallery owners were that uninformed about art. I believed that they had inside information to the universe and were above reproach. Guess it's a money thing above all. Thanks for all these remarks. Next time I'll be less intimidated and more confidant and know that my work isn't being judged by the "Gods" of art. Instead I'll go in with the idea that they are only looking at marketability for their client base. :sunnysmil

Jean