How To Explain Your Art To People

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“SO, WHAT KIND OF ART DO YOU MAKE?”

Every artist has been asked this question at one time or another. The runner-up being “Art Degree? What are you gonna do with that?” Though this question is arguably cringe worthy, it is good to have a clear explanation of what it is you do. And the reason behind why you do it. It helps the people that show interest in your work to better understand you. This can also help them to establish a connection with the piece and feel more inclined to purchase it.

 

Some may argue that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that art is self-explanatory. However, imagery doesn’t always cut it. Especially if you’re going to art school, or have been invited somewhere to talk about your art practice, then this argument just won’t cut it.

 

 

Why do you need to explain your art?

Explaining your artwork may even help you to understand you. I know I always benefit from a bit of self-realisation. It’s not quite good enough to just show someone a picture of your latest work and then expect them to get it. (Although, I am guilty of doing this!)

 

It is important to have at least a rough explanation of what you actually do. This also helps you to ‘market’ yourself as the talented artist you know that you are. If you can’t tell people what you do, chances are those people are less likely to buy your stuff, or help you sell your stuff to other people.

 

Describing your art to ‘important professionals’

By important professionals I mean the people that you probably may a bit feel nervous talking to because they could quite possibly determine the next step of your art career. Such as university administration, gallery curators, stockists; you get the idea. These people are most likely looking for an artist statement and a strong artists positioning.

 

What do people already think about your work?

Show your art to your friends, friends of friends, relatives, and maybe even a stranger – try the next door neighbour. See what they say about your artwork and write down their comments. See if they really get what you do and what you’re trying to express.

 

Now, try showing these people your own written explanation of your own work. Does it match what they were saying? Did they understand what you wrote or what you were trying to express? Once you’ve got a better idea of how you’ve managed to communicate your concepts to a small audience, rewrite your artist statement and elevate it a bit by incorporating some descriptive art language and vocabulary, but don’t go over board. 

 

In University, I had an art professor that would literally spew out these unique and complex arrangement of words and terms to ask a question that was a paragraph long to any Visiting Artists. The artist would be left with nothing but a blank stare. The truth is that the average person probably isn’t familiar with this ‘art speak’ in the same way you might have been trained, so they may have no idea what your artsy fartsy mumbo jumbo is that your going on about. So you’ll find it useful to have a different approach when talking to the average person.

 

Ways to explain your art to anyone who wants to know

Use Feeling Words

Art is an expression of yourself, so create a mood with your description. Describe it as if the person were in pitch black and could not see it.

 

Think about the feeling you want to express through your piece. What did you feel when you made this? What do you want your viewers to feel when they look at it? Overwhelming, hot, cold, upset, refreshed, light, heavy, rushed, peaceful… you get the idea.

 

Put yourself in the viewers shoes

The average person doesn’t have the luxury of earning a living doing what they love, as a result their hard earned money typically goes towards easily racked up bills. To turn the average person into a buyer of your art, they need to feel an emotional connection to it. Most people need to love art before they buy it. I know that whenever I am on the fence about a big purchase, I say to myself “If you don’t love it, leave it.” Think of how your viewers might see your work. How does your art connect? Is it mind-warping? Inspiring? Vibrant? House-warming?

 

 

Talk about your goal or intention

Perhaps you were inspired by something you saw and you wanted to create a piece around the same idea, theme or style. Maybe you attempted your first portrait or still life and you intended for it to look realistic. Perhaps it was an experiment of textures or combining materials. Did it work out? Was your piece successful or unsuccessful? Talk about why it was, or how it could’ve been improved. You want the viewer or reader to understand what sort of direction you were headed in when making it.

 

What’s the story?

Most art tells a story. Whether that be an illustration of an action or scene, perhaps the piece derived from a personal anecdote. What does your art describe? Maybe you were inspired by a funny story from art school, or a past lover. Perhaps you were reading a book and want to paint one the images it inspired in your mind. Maybe you had a random dream that you just wanted to get out of your head and onto paper.

 

Describe the Elements of Art and Design

When your describing the elements and design of your art, you’re talking about things like colour, shape, line, texture, contrast, balance, form, scale etc. By expanding on the elements of art and design, you’ll have so many ideas of where to start talking about the visual nature of your artwork.

 

Colour and Texture are great places to start. Describe how your artwork might feel to touch, or describe the visual texture connected to it.

 

Perhaps you’ve used colours that represent or evoke a certain emotional response. For instance, red can mean rage or lust. Yellow can mean happiness or humility. Blue tones can create a sense of sadness and melancholy. You might want to use, what I call ‘delicious’ words. Words that give your work some flavour. Such as earthy, organic, saturated, radiant, glistening and so on.

 

You really don’t need to expand too much about how your piece was made, unless the materials or tools you used speak directly to the subject matter. The typical viewer doesn’t actually care that you poured acrylic medium with 8 different colours, over a plaster slab that you sanded down before adding stones and fabric with hyper adhesive bonding glue…. 😐  Unless they ask specifically how you achieved the effect or which process you used, you might want to leave that stuff out.

 

Be POSITIVE!

Don’t beat yourself up about your art. It’s common for people to emphasis their weaknesses and downplay their strengths. But thoughts become words and words become reality.

 

Stay motivated and talk up your successes and downplay your weaknesses. With the right attitude you’ll begin to develop the skills you’re working towards.

 

So what if you made a mistake and the proportions are all awkward. Twist in a positive attitude and give a shout out to Picasso! Also, everyone has to start somewhere and that somewhere is at the beginning. And chances are you are miles ahead of the person who has only ever thought about picking up a pencil to draw something.

 

You are a great artist that continues to find new ways to improve. I know this because you wouldn’t have read this far if you weren’t interested in becoming a better artist.

 

Final Thoughts

It takes a bit of work and some practice to fine tune your tone and decide exactly how you can describe and explain your art to people, but surely once you’ve grasped it, you’ll create a vivid experience and enticing opportunity when people ask about your art work.

 

Need More Advice?

 

Books To Help:

• The Art Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained – DK
• Art: The Definitive Visual Guide – Andrew Graham Dixon

Articles To Help:

• How To Write An Artist Statement People Actually Want To Read
• How To Find Your Art Style

 

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Do you have art you’d like to share with us? We’re on a featuring frenzy over on Instagram! We feature new artists everyday on @DarkYellowDot, so give us a follow and tag your art posts with #darkyellowdot or you can submit your art here for a chance to be featured on our website.

 

What is your art about? Tell us in the comments.