17. Stains of Thought

“Stains of Thought” the name I give to my

characteristic impressionist flowers

What I can't understand is why people hang beautiful pictures or paintings on their walls, and I have to admit, what I see is really splendid- harmony and beauty blending in such a way as to please the senses- these people would never have hung up Van Gough's boots on their walls (before Van Gough became Van Gough), now would they?

So is art like a woman- certainly not just a pretty face? Therefore art cannot be just a matter of beauty, and yet without beauty it is not art. Art,
therefore, must be beauty plus the missing ingredient that beautiful pictures do not have... something that speaks- something that forces the attention to be focused on its mystery- something quite ingenious because it is so simple...

I have written all this because today, being Sunday I took to the road again and set up my stall on one of the typical Sunday Markets in this area and placed my wares on sale. The day passed in its usual uneventful fashion, selling three “Stains of Thought” the name I give to my characteristic impressionist flowers, one version of Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, and two Venetian Hills landscapes… Then just as I was dismantling the stall but having left the depressed sunflowers on the easel two gentleman said if I gave them a 15% discount they would take the painting. And if I didn’t? I asked. They said they would take it anyway. So I took down the 60x80 cm painting (not a little thing, by any means) and gave it to them, 15% discount included, which made them very happy, the memory of which will result in a closer affection towards my painting reassuring me that it would be better taken care of than if I insisted on the full price. I wonder if there is anyone else out there that does business with these principles in mind.

However, one thing I have learnt doing the Sunday markets- don't expect to get rich on art- people don’t buy paintings- even at poster-size prices! Art, like publishing is a sticky business and the key to it is as sticky as it comes.