A quick self discussion:
Is it possible to tell a story either in an individual painting or a series of paintings, or paintings that continue through the artist’s life (for example, Henry Darger’s work).  What is the future of painting? Can painted pictures coincide with motion pictures?  Or is it as relevant to the common person as Jazz music, an art that unfortunately exists to an exclusive circle of people.  Can painting be inclusive?  How can painting reach the attention and capture the imagination of the common person such as my dad, a blue collar man from a middle-class Catholic family. He lives in a now desolate Mid- American town, that has no interest in art whatsoever.
Painting was once the television for the western old world and  media for the every day person for several centuries.  The majority of the people were illiterate and painting was the main source of communicating stories,  such as the most popular story ever told, the story of Christ.  Now the movie theater is a modern church.  Today the world is flooded by an infinite amount of motion pictures, the bombastic land of the internet, the forever changing video game, and of course the all abrasive and addictive television set.  How can non-moving pictures created from an external substance of color compete with such a phenomenon.  Is there a place for art and specifically painting in contemporary society for everyone?  Can painting successfully tell stories once again?  Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and a narrative point of view.  How can painting today accomplish this and make my father have a substantially experience?