“I want to make my learning cycle faster by asking better questions.”
— Penelope Trunk, The reason therapy doesn’t work
What if we stopped asking “what’s wrong with this painting” and asked other, better questions?
What might be a better question? The one after “what do I like best?”.
Perhaps “what is most interesting?” (whether mark making, a happy accident, something inadvertent, a lost or found edge).
And regularly try “what if I …” to be motivated by curiosity rather than outcome or result.
What would your “better question” be? Do post a comment and let me know.
The right question is good, though show is better than ask. I work in a library and frequently hear… “I can’t find this book.” I usually go straight to the place where it should be, rather than ask if they looked. In many cases, it is exactly there…or close by. I usually say something like, “It takes two pairs of eyes to see.”
Art work is the same…The answer is there and needs to be seen. By two pairs of eyes or one pair of eyes seeing a two different ways.
In a picture like the one above, I would ask “how about a spot (or two) of bright orangeish color?”
My question would be: How the painting change if I added red? Or, blue, or any color that I did not use in the painting.