Describe the style as if you were talking to someone who couldn’t see it.
Pretend the average person is blind. They can’t see anything. Not even shadows. Just because they’re blind doesn’t mean they can’t use their four other senses to feel the artwork.
Suppose you were trying to describe your painting of a bunch of stars. Instead of describing the color, describe how the stars would feel.
To accomplish this, tell your prospect that in order to feel stars they should put their hand out when it’s raining. Then, they can feel the little points fall down on their palms. Because rain falls so quickly it has the effect of ‘twinkling’.
The average person becomes strongly connected to artwork they can feel using their imagination.
Describe the mood of the artwork as well as the visual characteristics.
Mood is an internal and rather subjective emotional state. Grammatically speaking, mood is a feature of verbs that’s used to indicate modality. There are several types of grammatical moods including indicative, interrogatory, imperative, emphatic, subjunctive, injunctive, optative, and potential. Grammatically describe the mood of the artwork using the indicative type. This type is used for factual statements and positive beliefs.
As you know, the visual characteristics of artwork are lines, colors, values, shapes, textures, space, and movement.
To describe them, you must think beyond straight or curved, red or orange, light or dark, round or square, striped or polka dot, shallow or deep, and small or large. Instead, you must talk about these characteristics using much more descriptive adjectives.
To describe the mood and visual characteristics to the average person, ask yourself these questions:
- How does its ambiance feel?
- What undertones does it evoke?
- How does its essence effect your spirit?
Always mention the colors, but make sure you use words that describe the colors and their effect.
For example, green is the color of grass, the leaves of trees, and seaweed. Green represents growth and healing. Red is the color of blood, roses, and hot chilis. It’s a very passionate color. Red can mean anger or desire.
Use words such as lustrous, shadowy, radiant, glossy, and saturated when describing colors. These words articulate the depth of the color.
Describe it using words that connect your artwork to the smell and feeling of everyday objects.
Put yourself in the mindset of the average person.
What you have to do is create that emotional connection between your artwork and the average person.
Think about how you can make them FEEL the artwork with words.
The average person can feel artwork if it’s vividly described, creating an unwavering emotional connection.
Art isn’t passive. Use action words to describe it.
Richard Serra once said, “Drawing is a verb.” Using only sheets of paper, he created a list of the infinitives of 84 verbs including to roll, to crease, to fold, to store, etc. This list also provided 24 possible contexts within which these verbs could be used including of gravity, of entropy, of nature, etc. Serra described this list as a series of actions related to the artist and the creative process. He used it to guide himself while creating in multiple mediums.
To determine which action words to use when describing your artwork to the average person, ask yourself these questions:
-What does the piece do?
Perhaps it charms and inspires.
-What’ll the average person do with it?
Perhaps they’ll luxuriate in it.
-Does it make a statement?
Perhaps it creates a serene atmosphere.
The use of words to describe artwork is completely subjective, and artwork may mean different things to different people. However, with effort, imagination, and practice, you can give the average person a more lively and interesting experience.
