 Some paintings attract us more than others due to psychological, emotional, cultural, and aesthetic factors. While taste is subjective, certain elements engage our attention and emotion on a deeper level. These include composition, color harmony, emotional resonance, symbolic content, and the viewer’s personal experiences or cultural background. In the below paintings, observe what each painting evokes in you: Visual composition plays a foundational role in our response to paintings. We are naturally drawn to visual balance, rhythm, and clarity. A well-composed painting guides the viewer’s eye through the image in a way that feels satisfying or intriguing. The placement of elements within the frame can create tension, harmony, or curiosity. This subconscious visual organization can make a painting feel “right” even before we understand its content.
Color is another powerful attractor. Warm tones such as reds, oranges, and yellows create excitement or warmth, while cool tones like blues and greens evoke calm or introspection. Artists often use color to evoke emotion, and we are often unconsciously drawn to hues that resonate with our internal states or emotional needs. Beyond formal elements, emotional resonance is a major reason why some paintings attract us. A painting may reflect a mood we’re experiencing or longing for—joy, melancholy, nostalgia, wonder. We are drawn to art that mirrors our emotional world or gives voice to feelings we cannot easily express. This is especially true of figurative or symbolic art, where facial expressions, gestures, and settings invite empathy or contemplation. Cultural and personal background strongly influence what we find attractive. A painting that references a viewer’s heritage, beliefs, or lived experiences will often strike a deeper chord. Likewise, personal experiences—such as a memory of a place, a relationship, or a trauma—can create a magnetic pull toward certain subjects or styles. This makes the viewing experience unique for every individual. Lastly, the mystery or originality of a painting can be a powerful attractor. We are naturally curious beings, and when a painting challenges our expectations, invites interpretation, or contains ambiguity, it compels us to look closer. Innovative techniques, unusual perspectives, or imaginative concepts stimulate both the intellect and the imagination.
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 Exposing yourself to new art offers a wide range of concrete benefits, many of which are supported by research in psychology, education, and even business. When you engage with art outside your usual tastes or comfort zone, you develop cognitive flexibility, improve your ability to empathize, and enhance your problem-solving skills. Encountering unfamiliar art challenges your perception. Whether it’s a type of visual art, performance, or music you don’t normally enjoy or understand, your brain is pushed to interpret new symbols, patterns, and forms. This process activates areas in the brain related to critical thinking. You may not immediately understand what you're looking at, but the act of trying to make sense of it is intellectually valuable. This kind of mental engagement builds tolerance for ambiguity, a trait associated with higher creativity and adaptability. (Read more below). A Deeper Dive
Exposing yourself to new art increases your capacity for empathy. Art often reflects the experiences, beliefs, and values of people from different backgrounds. When you see a painting from another culture or watch a film that portrays life in a different socioeconomic context, you’re given a window into someone else’s world. This exposure doesn’t just increase knowledge; it also helps you understand emotional perspectives that are different from your own. Studies have shown that regularly engaging with the arts can make people more empathetic and socially aware. There are also measurable benefits for communication. People who engage with diverse forms of art often become better at expressing themselves. That’s not just because they’re picking up artistic skills, but because they’re exposed to many different modes of expression. For example, a sculpture might convey a complex idea without using any words at all. Observing how artists communicate helps you refine your own ability to convey ideas in more precise or nuanced ways. This can be useful not only in creative fields, but also in business, education, and personal relationships. From a practical standpoint, seeing new art can help break routine patterns of thought. This is especially useful in problem-solving. When your brain gets used to the same kinds of inputs, your ideas tend to become repetitive. New art interrupts that cycle. It introduces unexpected elements that can stimulate different ways of thinking. This kind of mental disruption is a key ingredient in innovation. Finally, exposing yourself to new art can reduce stress and improve overall mental health. While art doesn’t replace therapy or medical treatment, studies have shown that people who engage with art regularly often report feeling more satisfied with their lives. Even passive exposure—like walking through a museum or listening to an unfamiliar piece of music—can lead to lower cortisol levels and improved mood. In short, regularly seeking out new and unfamiliar art isn't just a hobby—it’s a way to expand your mental toolkit, improve social and emotional understanding, and stay mentally flexible in a fast-changing world. The benefits are practical, measurable, and applicable to many areas of life. If you're painting from photos, why not take photos with a fisheye filter or wide-angle filter? Or imagine your subject in a swirled state rather than predicably static, and paint directly from your imagination. I enjoy Rob Pointon's paintings above, and it made me think of how artists throughout history have distorted images to create new and exciting effects. Movements like Cubism, led by Picasso and Braque, fractured perspective to reveal multiple viewpoints at once, while Expressionists, such as Edvard Munch, exaggerated form and color to convey psychological intensity. Surrealists like Salvador Dalí twisted reality to explore the subconscious, merging dream logic with the real world. Abstract artists, including Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, abandoned literal representation entirely, using shape, color, and gesture to evoke mood and meaning. These distortions often reflected broader societal shifts—industrialization, war, existential uncertainty—offering new ways to see and feel the world. Rather than mere imitation, modern art became a language of transformation, allowing artists to reinterpret reality, confront truth, and provoke thought. In distorting the familiar, they opened doors to deeper understanding and imaginative freedom.
 Cats have long been symbols of mystery, playfulness, and the uncanny, making them perfect subjects for art. Their fluid movements, piercing eyes, and mischievous expressions lend themselves to endless artistic interpretations. From ancient Egyptian depictions of divine felines to the surreal cats of contemporary paintings, these creatures captivate with their enigmatic presence. From vibrant, swirling patterns to exaggerated, elongated forms, artistic depictions of cats highlight their wonderfully weird nature. They embody contradictions—graceful yet chaotic, affectionate yet aloof—making them ideal muses for surreal and whimsical compositions. Whether they appear stretched beyond proportion, rendered in swirling colors, or sitting with an all-knowing stare, cats in art reflect both the strange and the sublime. Study the styles and moods of each painting. Try to imagine painting in a similar style. For more information about each painting, grab the image and drop it into Google Lens.  In class last week we were talking about Artist, Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993). He was an American painter known for his contributions to both Abstract Expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement. His early works reflected the gestural, expressive qualities of abstraction, but he later shifted to figurative painting, blending abstraction with recognizable forms. Diebenkorn’s most celebrated series, Ocean Park, features luminous, geometric compositions inspired by the California coast, marked by layered colors, subtle textures, and a masterful sense of space. His work balances structure and spontaneity, evoking both landscape and emotion. Diebenkorn remains an influential figure in modern art, bridging abstraction and representation with a distinctive, contemplative style.  Here are some beautiful and interesting paintings that I found recently. Please check them out and ask yourself how they were painted. Perhaps even download an image and printed out to use as a reference photo for yourself. Enjoy!  I have been talking with some of my students about surrealism lately. As an artistic style, it ranges from the quirky and peculiar to the outright ghoulish and horrifying. The original idea of surrealism was that it supposedly depicted what dreams look like. René Magritte is one of my favorite original surrealists. He was born in Belgium and was known for his thought-provoking and enigmatic works. He juxtaposed ordinary objects in unexpected ways and challenged perceptions of reality and representation. Iconic works like The Son of Man (depicting a man in a bowler hat with his face obscured by an apple) explore themes of identity, illusion, and meaning. His precise, illustrative style and playful manipulation of context created visual puzzles that engage viewers intellectually and emotionally. If you ever hit a plateau with you current painting style, consider painting a whimsical surrealist painting for a change of pace.  When studying paintings by other artists, focus on technique. Was the painting done 'loose and expressive' or 'tight and technical'? Compare the color palette between the paintings below. Ask yourself how the color palette affects the mood of the painting. Imagine if they were different colors. Study the composition and notice how shapes interact with each other to produce a harmonious whole. Ask yourself, or notice, what emotional feeling the painting evokes. Which paintings have a flat-to-the-picture-plane composition and which create a sense of deep space? How do you think the artist accomplished these compositional effects? Can you identify the historic style out of which these paintings have arisen?  Styles of visual art are available to us today like never before. And it's amazing to see what so many artists are doing from all over the world. Variety of style and technique in our visual art culture is vital as it reflects the diversity of thought, experience, and perspective. Different approaches to form, color, and medium enable artists to express a wide range of ideas and emotions, from traditional beliefs to modern innovations. This richness fosters dialogue between generations and communities, enhancing cultural understanding and evolution. A varied artistic landscape also encourages experimentation, challenging established norms and pushing creative boundaries, which contributes to a culture’s growth, resilience, and ability to inspire others globally. Diversity in art nurtures a dynamic and inclusive cultural identity.  Contemporary art defies traditional movements, and is bound by no singular style or school. Artists today blend diverse influences, techniques, and cultures, creating a vibrant, eclectic global art ecosystem. The internet has amplified this new art world reality, enabling a global exchange of ideas and recognition of artists from every culture, country, and race. Unlike the past’s Western-dominated narratives, today’s art world is more inclusive, celebrating a multitude of perspectives. It used to be that artists like myself could only learn about art through history books, magazines, and film documentaries. But it’s super exciting to see so much extraordinary art now. Here are some painting that recently showed up on my Instagram that I really liked.  Quirky and beautiful realistic fine art painting brings a delightful twist to traditional realism. These works capture everyday scenes and objects with meticulous detail, yet infuse them with unexpected elements that surprise and charm the viewer. Whether it’s a whimsical play on scale, an imaginative use of color, or the inclusion of fantastical details within a realistic setting, these paintings balance authenticity with creativity. The result is a captivating blend of the familiar and the extraordinary, where the ordinary becomes enchanting. This fusion of quirky and beautiful invites viewers to see the world with fresh eyes and a sense of wonder.   Oil painting by artist Mickey Culver [email protected]
Culver's painting blends realism and abstraction, offering a unique visual experience. The foreground stripes make us respond to the piece as if it were abstract. The abstract effect is accentuated by the seemingly disconnected landscape to the left and right of the vehicle in the upper part of the painting. However abstract this painting may seem, it is actually a realistic painting. It is an illusion on a highway. A mirage in which shimmering pools of water seem to cover the roadway far ahead. This mirage occurs when the air near the ground is much hotter than the air above it. This temperature gradient causes light rays to bend (refract) as they pass through layers of air at different temperatures, creating the appearance of water or a shimmering, blurry effect on the road. This is specifically called an 'inferior mirage', as the mirage appears below the actual object. As artists, this painting may inspire us to look for unusual phenomena in the world around us that would create a dynamic and thought-provoking composition, challenge viewers' perceptions, and invite diverse interpretations. |
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Patrick Howe, Artist, Author and Educator Seattle, WA. Contact: [email protected] |
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