Art is the gateway to our soul

'Harry,' said Basil Hallward, looking him straight in the face, 'every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.'

Wilde, 1890

The above extract is from The Picture of Dorian Gray - Basil (the painter of the infamous picture in question) has a lengthy discussion with his friend Lord Henry Wotton about why he is reluctant to display the portrait.

Is this the reason why people are reluctant to show off their work? I can see there's something very personal about a piece of art, including writing. It's almost as if, by writing a moving, emotional scene, you are exposing yourself to the reader as if you were genuinely in that scene.

Oscar Wilde had a lot to say about art and writing, but what do you think? Is there something extremely personal about writing? Are you the sort of person who won't show their work around? Or are you perfectly fine with anyone and everyone reading what you've done?

I think I'm somewhere in the middle. There are some people I wouldn't want to read certain aspects of my writing, but that's mainly because it would be massively uncomfortable. But in the end, if these things get filmed, they're bound to be seen eventually.

Let me know what you think.....