Funny you should mention it. As a child of up to five to ten years old, I was scared of many photographs. All of the old ones that were set in convex glass where the people were not smiling terrified me. I could see their eyes following me, and I'd walk, back against the opposite wall to pass them, as my grandmother had three hanging in her basement. Scarey stuff! There was also a poster of a painting of a religious figure given lovingly to me as a ten year old child. I hung it above my bed proudly. Again, the eyes followed me. I couldn't sleep. It really freaked me out, so I finally worked up my courage to approach the dreaded poster and remove it from my wall. It laid in a roll under my bed until it eventually fell apart, and I'd turn out the lights and jump to my bed to keep my feet from getting too close to the poster/painting.
What's funny to me now, is that what scared me then is what I aim for now in my paintings. When I think logically, I suppose that I was seeing in these old photos and the painting maybe a little more detail than a non artist might see, nothing more. I think it's kind of neat that I saw life in a painted image at a young age.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
