Dougal McKenzie
"Figures by a Water Tank"
I don't believe that you need to 'know a lot' about painting to enjoy it. That is the job of the painter; just as it is the job of the movie maker, or the musician, or the poet to know about the history of what they are involved in, so too painters need to think about their work and how it relates to the history of painting. From there, you hope that you have done enough to make it interesting to the viewer. You.
Of course it can be interesting to know about the ideas or concepts behind a painting, but as I say if you don't really need that to enjoy a piece of music, or a poem, or a film, then why should it be important for looking at a painting?
We look at films and listen to music to be moved somehow - to basically hope that our emotions will be stimulated. In looking at a painting that is all you really need to ask yourself - is this stimulating my emotions in any way? It may not be to do with the 'subject', although it could be that. Rather it could also be how the paint has been applied to the canvas, or how certain colours have been used, or why is it that that bit of the painting is catching my eye more than that other bit?
That's all you really need to bring to a painting - and then give it time. Just like it takes a while to get into watching a play, if a painting catches your eye then give it time to work on you. And if it doesn't work on you, that's fine...move on to another painting and see what that does. Just concentrate on what is contained within the four edges of the work, and don't feel that you need to know anything much more beyond that.