“When first approaching these works, we feel as if we are observers. We are watching these people from afar – in moments when they do not seem to realise we are even here – and we are left wondering who they are, or what they might be thinking, or what may have happened to them in the moments before we find them here. But then, the longer we look, the more it all starts to feel strangely personal too. Almost as if these people may be someone we know. Or someone we passed on the street earlier today. Or – certainly when it comes to Hopper’s paintings – perhaps they remind us of ourselves too . . . and those the times when we too may have sat alone in a late night diner, or felt those pangs of loneliness drifting on the air all around us. It is a remarkable experience.” -George Bothamley, “Art Every Day” Substack
A fun writing exercise to do is to go to a museum, journal in hand. Browse through the artwork until you find one that really lights you up. Then just stare at it, let your imagination take over, and write a story about the character(s) in the painting. Don’t edit yourself. Just keep writing until you’re done. (You can also do this online, but it’s way more fun to do it in person.)
Note: Edward Hopper is a great painter for this. His characters evoke so many different feelings when viewed. In his excellent “Art Every Day” Substack, George Bothamley, does a great job breaking down Hopper and Vermeer (another great painter for this exercise).
My friend and phenomenal teacher, Howard Fine, does a variation of this as an acting exercise. In his intro class, he has students go to a museum and find a painting that inspires them. They write their own “Who Am I?” backstory about the character in the painting. (The “Who Am I?” questions are detailed in Howard’s excellent book on the craft, which you can check out Here.) Taking this a step further, you then dress up in class as the painting. You’re asked all types of questions and are to answer “in character.” I loved it! Both doing and observing.
Lastly, in the terrific documentary, “It Takes A Lunatic”, acting teacher and artistic director, Wynn Handman, is shown “interviewing” actors working on scene study. He asks all kinds of questions and they answer “in character.”
All of these exercises have the following in common…They are super fun, artistically inspiring and get you out of your head, and into another person’s skin.
Give one or more a try at some point. And if you do, let me know how it goes!
P.S. – Here was my painting for Howard’s class. It was a while back. 🙂 You can find it at LACMA.
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