Hi!
After I wrote last week about the importance of the story in a painting, I got to thinking on that topic more deeply.
As I interacted with followers on Facebook and Instagram, I came to a conclusion that I find extremely freeing. And I thought you might find this insight helpful too, whether as a painter or as an art lover...or both.
We humans are hard-wired for internal storytelling.
First, it helps to understand exactly what a story is and why I concluded that there is ALWAYS a story, even when I didn't plan it consciously.
In literacy, the five fundamental elements of a story are the characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Great writers, the ones who keep you glued to a book, involve more elements than these and delve much deeper with each.
A good writer will allow the reader to do some of the intellectual work through description of a character's body language, through foreshadowing, and inference. Half the fun in reading a good mystery is figuring out some things yourself, which is why we teach young writers to 'show, don't tell.'
There is always some sort of resolution in a written story, even if it's not what you'd hoped for or it leaves you with a cliff-hanger...until the sequel comes out.
In a visual story, the painter crafts the characters, the setting, and sometimes the conflict, but rarely shows you the conclusion.
This is because no matter the form, the storyteller knows that the reader/viewer will bring their own experiences to the table.
What this means for a painter is that it doesn't matter if all the elements are there. The viewer will supply any that are missing. In fact, they want to, and as I suggested earlier, they almost can't help it.
Just for kicks, let's play a little visual association game.
Look at each image below and pay attention to what happens there in your brain.
No words, just images....GO!
