Evocation

According to Oxford English Dictionary, "evocation" means the act of bringing a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind. I have always wanted my artwork to be evocative. I provide an image for the viewer; but most of the time, I want the image to serve as something like a Rorschach ink-blot. That is, rather than me trying to convey "a message" to the viewer, I prefer that the image evoke feelings (i.e., some emotional reaction). And I'm generally not concerned about what those feelings/responses happen to be (although I am generally not interested in evoking a feeling of being "insulting" to others). I consider myself a "lucky" artist, in that, when I am in my studio and a composition stirs some reaction in me, I am generally quite confident that it will have the same effect on someone else viewing the piece. The feelings can arise from looking at a composition that is aesthetically-pleasing; but it can also come from an image that is somewhat disturbing. I think my favorite composition is one that is ambiguous, but still evocative -- one for which the viewer "provides the emotional narrative". What prompted me to write this post this morning, was this sketch I worked on last night in the studio. It's just a sketch at this point -- I'm not sure I will continue with it or not. But as it emerged, I found it at once ambiguous, and hauntingly evocative. So I thought I would share.