Do I think about the audience when I paint?

I don't think about the audience when I paint.

What I do think about, on a broader level, is that I create art not just for myself and the walls of my home.

Art, in the end, provides emotional, visual, and cultural value to the world.

I do think about the person looking at the painting and about their experience as a viewer

whether it's through the composition and color scheme that flatters the painting,

or through quiet areas versus more intense ones, in order to create a kind of "journey" that moves the viewer from point to point.

But I never think about the audience in terms of "will they like it or not" when I paint,

when I introduce a new subject to a painting, or at the start of a new work.

I love going to live shows.

The best performances are always the ones where the musician is fully present and connected to themselves. They're not busy trying to entertain the crowd or please anyone hey're fully immersed in their music.

It's the same with painting.

When you're alone in the studio, with yourself, sometimes doubts and thoughts can take you in all sorts of directions.

thoughts like: "Will people like what I'm doing or not?"

If, even for a few moments, you're not present, not tuned into the process, and not focused,

it can take the painting to a completely different place that you didn't intend

and even ruin it just because you weren't loyal to your inner voice.

So why don't I think about the audience when I paint?

Because I believe that it's not a healthy place to create from.

You often find yourself confused all the time, and that also leads to constantly changing your style

just from that place of "Will they like this or not?", "What will they think of me?", "What will they say?"

People love artworks because they open a window into a world that isn't their own.

To sum it up

a good painting must have honesty in it.

That honesty always comes through to the viewer when they look at a piece.

A painting is a living thing, with history.

The entire process from the idea, through the doubts and stages, to the final result merges into a single moment

when someone looks at the piece and experiences something:

something philosophical, joyful, sad, or anything that evokes a feeling or thought.