The Illusion of Knowing
Every person is a contradiction—part known, part hidden, part unknowable. Every glance suggests more than it reveals. Every painting pulls you in but never gives everything away. That’s the space where my work exists—the tension between recognition and mystery, between what’s offered and what stays just out of reach.
Familiar Faces, Unfamiliar Depths
We like to believe we understand the people closest to us. We build narratives around them, filling in gaps with our own assumptions. It’s comfortable. It’s convenient. But do we actually see them? Do we ever grasp the full complexity of another human being? Or are we just working with curated fragments, interpreting what makes sense to us and discarding the rest?
Art That Invites, But Doesn’t Explain
My paintings live in that ambiguity. They invite, but they don’t explain. They confront, but they don’t resolve. Because what remains unsaid—what lingers in the periphery of understanding—is often the most truthful thing of all.
The Hanged Man: A Shift in Perspective
The image above is from my painting The Hanged Man, a piece that challenges perception and asks the viewer to reconsider what they think they know. In tarot, the Hanged Man represents surrender, a shift in perspective, the necessity of looking beyond the obvious. It’s about understanding that knowledge often requires unlearning. Seeing isn’t always knowing.
Embracing the Mystery
If this all sounds a little heavy, well—welcome to my world. But hey, consider this: maybe life would be unbearably dull if we had everyone figured out. Where’s the fun in that? A little mystery keeps things interesting. So next time someone surprises you, take it as a gift. After all, wouldn’t it be tragic if we were all just walking Wikipedia pages?
Some people need art to be an answer. I prefer it as questioning. Or at least a really good cliffhanger.
#BeyondTheSurface #SeenUnseen #DeborahScottArt #ArtAsExploring #WhatRemainsHidden #LookDeeper
