[Alexandra Tyng]

Last year I was at a parent-teacher event at my son's high school, and I was sitting across the table from the art teacher. He had recently won several awards at area shows, so I congratulated him on his good fortune.

"Oh, it's a c--- shoot," he said.

"But," I insisted, "you won several awards. There must be some method behind choosing what you are going to enter. How do you determine what's likely to win?"

He said that a teacher of his had once told him that, when the judges go around looking at all the pieces in a show, they are usually overwhelmed by the sheer number of entries, and they don't have time to look losely at each one, so the ones they choose are the ones with "retina-burn." Retina-burn is the power a work of art has to burn itself indelibly into your visual memory.

In your opinion, what factors give a painting "retina-burn?"What stops you in your tracks, grabs you and won't let go, makes you want to possess a particular work of art?

Please post examples if you like!