At a social event over the weekend I bumped into a married couple who are friends of mine and who I’ve not seen for about a year. We kissed and hugged in greeting and after catching up with each others news the guy sat down next to me to ask how my artwork is going. He always asks this when I see him, and I love the fact he’s interested and genuinely wants to know what I’m up to. I told him that last year I had a load of nice commissions to do, then at the beginning of this year they dried up, as they do every so often, and when that happens I concentrate more on doing paintings for galleries and finding an inspiring niche market to explore. I explained that I had a gallery in mind I wanted my artwork to hang in, and for them to represent me, and that after chatting to a sales woman in one of their galleries I had painted six pictures of differing sizes, but of the same theme, so they could see the running theme and how I could paint to it, keep to the standard of the work and subject matter the same, and I had submitted the artwork to the gallery and was awaiting their feedback, although I thought it might be a couple of weeks before that would happen, so in the meantime I was painting more pictures to the same theme to show that I could continue with it, which is what galleries, and the people who follow and buy art need to know. 
At no point did I actually mention what the theme was, and didn’t even give any clues at all as to what it might be.
My friend was interested in the way I was talking passionately about the artwork, and since he is also self employed he could see the benefit of an artist finding regular work through selling art through a gallery, and said that he as a handy man sometimes did sub-contract work through builders since he knew then that he would get regular work, and it would help him get his name around for prospective customers. I nodded in agreement that that would be a good thing for him, as he said that if you don’t have an online presence people tend to ignore you, even it you don’t use it, it helps to be on the internet. We carried on talking and he said that he felt that sometimes we all get caught up too much with technology, and I nodded in agreement. I think we all need quiet spaces in our busy lives as well as the bustling ones. He agreed, and then he said something that made me stop and look at him in amazement !!!!
He had said “We all need more ******* in our lives”
I looked at him and said “But, that’s what my subject matter is for my new paintings, just exactly THAT!!!”
And we both looked at each other, and I laughed in absolute delight.
Doesn’t that just prove it, exactly the point I am trying to make!!!
He had no knowledge of my subject matter, I had given him no clues, and yet the one thing he felt as a middle aged guy who knows and likes people, is that we need more of the one thing I have chosen as my new theme…. Uncanny!!!