Along the River

 

Along the River 8 x 16 oil on linen on panel

A friend suggested to me that the reason my Fish Weir painting was somewhat disappointing to him was because the subject matter wasn't recognizable.  I wonder how much the idea - needing to immediately understand what you are looking at -- actually influences whether or not someone "likes" a painting.  My photographer made a similar comment about a different painting, which is why I'm asking.  Not that I necessarily agree with this point of view -  I personally like mystery.  I don't want everything illustrated for me, but I can see that others really enjoy that style. 

But the thought occurs to me that a painting can be too obscure. 

Along the River is a new painting, not completely finished. After I photographed it I realized I needed to clean up a few edges.  But I like to think that the subject matter is recognizable.  This is along the banks of the Deschutes near an area called Cline Falls.  The river - as usual - is at the base of a canyon, although not so deep in this area.  During irrigation season the water level drops and the small river willows and grasses take advantage.  During the summer, the kids love to hunt the small crawdads that hide in the rocks just beyond where the willows are growing.  You wade out carefully, bait your hook with a worm.  You don't need a pole, just a sturdy string and a bucket for the crawdads.  It takes a bit of practice and patience to lure the crawdad out from beneath the rocks and by the end of a hot afternoon the more successful hunters have a pretty good haul.  I'm not sure what these kids do with the crawdads after they've caught them - I've never really asked, but an old relative of ours said that they "made good eatin'..."  Somehow I've never tried that particular delicacy.  I know others use them for bait for the trout.  Again, not my area of expertise, so I limit myself to painting the willows above the rocks where the crawdads are hiding. 

So in a way, the subject matter in this painting is also obscure...

 

Comments

[Tamara]

I'm probably silly to suggest this, but why not let the title tell the viewer something specific while the painting remains mysterious. Most of the time the title is near the work, and after the purchase it doesn't matter because the new owner will relay the information. So, something like, "Cline Falls Crawdad(s)" instead of "Along the River". It's not sexy, but I think it draws the viewer into the painting.

[Cindy Revell]

Just paint how you want to paint. The right painting will connect with the right person. We can't all like every painting and we all have a tendency to get something different out of them. Of course the obvious things will usually be the same for most people but subtleties and more obscure ideas will be mysterious and will be seen differently by various people. I think that's a very good thing.

[Hal Wright]

When I was a boy some 40-50 years ago, we caught crawdads with bacon on a string and when done fishing we returned them to the creek to catch again another day. This is a more pleasant answer to your question about what the boys do with the crawdads.

As for the issue of mystery in a painting, I agree that it can sometimes be intriguing to permit viewers to guess at what is going on. However, they may guess wrong. To me, the water in Along the River read as snow. It is still an intriguing painting, but I missed the story you are telling. That's a risk with being obscure.

[Gill Knox]

I had this happen just last week, and I think there does have to be SOME instant recognition. See now I recognise what you have painted, but to me the association is depressing, since here, that kind of messy tree stuff near water is usually more swampy ditch than river, or if a river, annoying because it cuts off access to the river.... I personally would prefer a clearer view to the distance, less mess... they say there is a painting for everyone out there, and a person for every painting you do...I have had pple buy a painting years and years after painting it and they say they are so grateful for placing it for sale, what a change of comment, eh? :) There is someone out there who will know exactly what you have painted and why. PS I do LOVE the water colours....