I drove over to the Square & Compass today in order to rotate the display of my pictures there. As I was packing up to leave, and stowing the earlier images from my display in the car, I got into conversation with a large group of men, all of whom appeared to be of retirement age. They were getting their boots on and donning their waterproofs, ready for a country walk. It is pretty certain that they would end up in the bar after their walk.
One of them enquired whether I was “the artist”. I guess that means that they had been there on a previous occasion, and actually noticed that there were pictures on the walls. Good! I didn’t actually have the confidence to ask what they thought about my work. It did make me think, however, whether this group is typical of the people who do see my pictures. I can’t help asking myself also whether were are lessons I can learn here. Can I take it that a substantial part of my audience to actually enjoy the open air, and that they have a direct acquaintance with the kind of things I paint? I would like to think so.