Why You’re Looking at Art the Wrong Way (and how to actually feel it)

Drica Lobo
5 hours ago
3 min read

Hey, hello there, friend!

I’ve noticed something over the years, both in galleries and in conversations with people encountering art for the first time. I found out most people don’t experience art.They try to figure it out, by standing in front of a painting and immediately ask themselves:

“Does this make sense?”

“Would this match my space?”

“Do I understand what the artist meant?”

And just like that… the moment is gone, because art was never meant to be solved, it was meant to be felt.

I overheard in my latest art exhibition people stand in front of a painting and say, “Okay but what does it mean?”. Like the painting owes them something.

That’s when this blog post came to mind.

I could barely concentrate for the rest of the art show, I became obsessed with overhearing comments, like I was suddenly doing my own little “research.” Not to prove a point, but because it made me wonder…

Is there actually a “right” way to look at art? And more importantly, has anyone ever been taught how to feel it?

how to engage with art drica lobo art palos verdes art center — Winter Show Exhibition, Palos Verdes Art Center (2019)

The moment you stop trying to understand… everything shifts

The strongest connections I’ve witnessed with my work never started with logic, they started with an inexplicable pull.

I’ve had collectors come back, not once, not twice, but over the years, slowly filling their homes with my paintings. And when I ask them why, the answer is almost never technical.

They talk about energy, and how the piece feels in their space. About how it reflects something in them they didn’t know how to put into words. Some of them say it feels like the painting was always meant to be there.

If you pay attention, next time you feel a pull towards a painting, you will realized that’s not about analysis, it's recognition.

The difference between liking art and collecting it

A lot of people love art (I think for obvious reasons).

They visit galleries, follow artists, maybe even save pieces they admire. But collectors move differently, they don’t just look at art — they see themselves in it.

They build walls that tell stories. And each piece becomes a marker, a memory, an energy, and over time, their home stops being decorated… and starts becoming a reflection of their inner world.

So how do you actually connect with a piece?

Not by analyzing it, but by letting it meet you first.

Next time you look at a painting, try this instead:

Notice what pulls you in before you understand why
Pay attention to what you feel in your body, not just your thoughts
Let your interpretation be enough, you don’t need the “right” answer
Stay a little longer than you normally would
Try not to compare with anything else (this one is hard because our brain is wired to make connections)

Because the truth is…

If you don’t know how to engage with original art, you’re missing one of the most powerful ways to get to know yourself.

Art doesn’t just sit on a wall. It only reflects you back to you.

The moment you feel it… that’s the one

You don’t need permission to love a piece. You also don’t need to justify it, not even fully understand it.

That moment when something clicks, when your body softens, when you have a sense of awe and when your attention locks in, when you keep coming back to the same piece…

That’s it. That’s the connection.

And if you trust it, you’ll start to see art differently. Not as something to match your space… but as something that expands it.

Putting into practice

I recently released a small group of paintings as part of my Second Light — April Edition.

Before you scroll through them the usual way… try something different.

Pause.

Let your eyes land on one piece.

Notice what pulls you in before you try to understand it.

What do you feel?

Where does your attention stay?

That’s the experiment.

Because that subtle pull you feel? That’s exactly how most of my collectors choose their work. And more often than not, the pieces they hesitate on… are the ones they come back to, hoping they’re still there.

This collection will only be available until the next rotation (early May). After that, the works move on, into private collections or back into the studio at a different price point.

So take a second look. And if something meets you differently this time… trust that.