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A recent comment on one of my blogs set me thinking. Most artists--at least those whose primary focus is not on painting for money--paint to capture the essence of the mystery they see in the subject. Do they always capture the essence of the mystery? Not by a long shot! Probably 95% of us painters realize that we are not Rembrandt or van Gogh. But we are captivated by the scene. And that is essentially what the person was saying in the comment on my blog. Yet and still, the painter's vision needs to be communicated to the viewer. 

The person who added the comment on my blog made the point that the title is so important--the title on the blog and the painting he was referring to was, "Where the Trout Jump." And he's right; a title that catches the attention of the viewer and leads them into the painting is important. I get that, and I have also realized that perhaps more important to the average collector may be the colors of the painting. What artist has not heard the comment, "I really like that painting, but it doesn't go with the colors of the room." For Pete's sake, how does the painter know what your room colors are? For instance, the painting "The Old House" under the category of landscapes has been quite popular; I've painted several versions of it. And I suspect the interest is more in the bright colors than in the actual scene itself in most cases.

But hey, that's all right. The realization that people often buy on the basis of the dominant color helps the artist to be versatile and paint varied scenes and use various color combinations on his palette. So, find your favorite painting and get it before somebody else does!