A marketing test I’ve been avoiding
I’ve seen a lot of artists reveal a finished painting by standing in front of the camera with the work turned around, then flipping it to show the piece.
I always like those videos.
They immediately give a sense of scale. There’s a tiny bit of anticipation. And seeing the artist with the work makes the whole thing feel more personal.
I’ve thought about trying it myself. And then I haven’t.
The problem isn’t really the video
I could tell myself it’s about lighting. Or whether the painting will look good on camera. Or whether I’ll know where to stand.
Those are manageable.
The more honest answer is that I don’t particularly like being on camera.
I start thinking about how I look. I think about people who knew me years ago seeing the video and noticing that I’m older now.
Which is, of course, because I am older now.
Still, apparently this is where my brain chooses to spend its energy.
Artists are used to making decisions
Maybe part of what makes testing feel strange is that art asks us to choose.
A color. A composition. A mark. A direction.
We may change our minds along the way, but the process is still about resolving something.
Marketing can ask for a different kind of thinking.
Try this version. Try another. Change the format. See what happens.
That can feel oddly unnatural when we’re used to making one thing and standing behind it.
But sharing the work is a different question
The painting is already finished.
I’m not deciding whether the barn should be red or blue based on engagement.
The experiment is simply about how someone encounters the work.
Does seeing me hold the painting help people understand its size? Does the reveal make them linger a little longer? Does it create more connection than a photograph of the finished piece by itself?
I don’t know.
Which is probably the point.
Curiosity may be enough
I don’t need to decide that I’m now an on-camera personality. Or make make five versions. Or turn one experiment into a new content strategy.
But I can make one reveal video.
See how it feels. Notice how people respond. Decide what I think afterward.
That seems much more useful than continuing to have an opinion about something I haven’t actually tried.
Testing. My way.
I like the idea of testing when it gives me information and insight, not instructions.
Marketing data can tell us what people noticed, clicked, watched or responded to. It can’t tell us who to be.
For me, the goal isn’t optimization. It’s curiosity. I can try something different once in a while, pay attention, and keep what teaches me something.
I’ll let the art remain the part I decide for myself.
But trying a new way to share it may be worth a little vulnerability, discomfort, and facing a few fears.
…Every once in a while.
