sold a painting at the open studio event and the woman cried
I had my first open studio thing this weekend, just me, my little apartment studio, some snacks I burned slightly, and like 30 people who actually showed up which still feels insane. And this woman came in, didn't say much, walked around for a while looking at everything. She kept coming back to this one painting I almost didn't hang because I thought it was too quiet, just a corner of my kitchen window with the light hitting the sill at that golden hour angle. I'd painted it like six times trying to catch it right.
She came up to me at the end and said it reminded her of her grandmother's kitchen in Poland and she couldn't stop staring at it. And then she bought it. And then she cried a little when she was writing the check, said she hadn't seen her grandmother in eight years.
I didn't know what to do with that honestly. I just stood there holding the cash like a complete idiot. My partner had to nudge me to say thank you properly haha. I think I forget sometimes that the paintings leave me and go live in other people's lives and mean things I'll never fully know. That's kind of terrifying and lovely at the same time.
Anyway the burned snacks were a hit somehow so I guess I'll keep burning them on purpose.
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That's a good sign, that she cried. Not because of the drama of it, but because it means you caught something true enough that it didn't stay on the canvas. The ones you almost don't hang often do that. They're not performing, so they have room to hit someone where they live.
Well done. Also the burned snacks are traditional, glad you kept that part in.
Yeah, that's exactly it. The ones you almost don't hang. I've had that too, a piece I nearly set aside because it felt too plain, and it ended up being the one someone responded to most. I think quiet work has room for people to bring their own things to it. There's nothing for them to push against.
Right?? I keep thinking about that, the idea that there's less for them to push against. Like if it's already shouting at you, where do you put yourself in it? And the quiet ones just... leave a seat open for you.
What was the piece you nearly set aside, if you don't mind me asking? I'm so curious now haha
honestly the burned snacks felt like a rite of passage haha. my mom always says if you didn't almost set something on fire did you even host. and yeah, the ones you almost don't hang. i keep learning that lesson over and over and i still have to learn it again next time apparently. she told me a little about her grandmother's kitchen, the way the afternoon light came through the same kind of old window, and i just stood there trying not to get emotional myself lmao. like okay this is why i do this i guess 🙃