Try Talking

If an airplane landed in the middle of the freeway, people would likely stop to see it, right? Well, don’t you think it a bit out of the ordinary to see an artist on a street corner painting (unless you’re painting in Venice). Then why, my plein air artist friend, would you be dismayed that people stop to watch you paint and ask, “What’s going on here”?

Too many artists offer these suggestions on how to deal with curious onlookers who want to talk: ‘Wear headsets and pretend that you can’t hear’, ‘Discourage conversation by putting a tin cup in front of you as though you’re asking for donations,’ ‘Tell your visitor that you must have silence to concentrate.’

Well, how about this for a little advise. ‘Talk to the people.’ Is your artwork more important that the person who probably is happy to see you there painting? A few words of kindness from you might mean more to them than all your precious paintings.