This afternoon, I was thinking about marketing and the main question I asked myself was “what is my product?” The first thing that comes to mind: paintings. As my wife says to me at times, “thanks, captain obvious!” Then I began to think about people who have received my paintings and when I or someone else could see their reactions to the work. I realized my “product” is a bit more than the painting itself. I’ve compiled some examples below.

I donated a small painting to a local writing group to go into a gift basket for a raffle at an annual holiday arts and craft show at Pagosa’s high school. The painting, called “Writers Cabin,” was an old cabin in a rustic frame that was small enough to fit inside the gift basket along with other goodies that writers would like.

My wife was working at the group’s booth when they gave away the basket. She related to me later that the woman who won the basket picked it up, walked over to her own table, pulled out the painting, and stared at it with a big smile. I saw the basket and all the goodies and couldn’t believe the painting was the first thing she pulled out. This was the first I’d really heard of any reaction to my work when a customer wasn’t speaking to me in person.

Another example happened with our friend’s mom. She’d been looking at hummingbird paintings on my website. I painted a small hummingbird painting for our friend to give to her mother for a birthday present. She told my wife that when her mother opened the painting, she started crying. She didn’t receive a Turner or Sargent masterpiece. It was a cute little bird painting. Maybe it was the intimacy of a gift that was “built by hand” or that her daughter cared enough to recognize that she had been on my website. Somehow it resonated enough to evoke a strong emotion. She was touched, and so was I - by her reaction.

On other occasions, customers have bought paintings for birthday gifts from the local gallery when I happened to be there. They frequently request that I write a birthday note to their grandma or some other relative on the back of the painting - a personal note from the artist. This personal exchange between me and the people who receive one of my paintings is definitely part of why I paint - it’s meaningful.

The one that resonates with me the most is my dad. He had cancer, had started home hospice, and was confined to a hospital bed in his bedroom. For a veterans day gift, I made a painting of an airplane he flew during Navy flight school training. I presented it and he expressed his gratitude and of course related a story about his Navy days. As I listened, I set the painting on his dresser. He immediately asked me to hang the painting on the opposite wall from his bed so he could look at it. He showed it to all the nurses and home care workers that came over to help us. I don’t know if it was gratitude or pride or if it brought back fond memories, but he stayed attached to the painting until the end.

I’ve concluded that each work brings something to someone. Because I make so many paintings in a year, I probably don’t view them the way another views them. There is more purpose to painting then just my enjoyment and some extra cash. Although I’m not a “significant” artist, the work still resonates. Maybe someday I’ll be good enough for many people to enjoy my paintings in museums and books. Maybe it will always just be enjoyed in their living room or my dad’s bedroom. Either way, they evoke a positive emotion. Sometimes it’s a direct result of the painting and sometimes it’s part of the overall experience.

I’ve decided that painting is a way for me to give something positive to others - that’s why I paint.