So, I have about five started posts and just am too tired to write about them. I don't feel like I am giving my blog the energy and zeal I have in the past and I am a bit sad about it as I used to come up with funny double meaning titles and be more descriptive in my posts but reality has still got me bound where I don't feel good and that saps my creative energy I guess.
I did something I have never done before this weekend. It didn't start out to be something I haven't done but I ended up at a museum by myself for about 3 hours and I LOVED it!!! When I take the kids with me to an exhibit, they like to rush though and I have to say that I used to be that way and when people told me they wanted to go see the Picasso exhibit, I wondered if they were crazy. A few years ago I was in Vegas and they had a Monet there and they were charging lots to go in and view it and I thought people were so stupid to pay money to see one painting.
I don't know what snapped in my brain a few years ago but I started to paint my home with color. I started acquiring original art work from local artists, I think because crafts and any activity that took any time from my former spouse was mocked, if I loved it, it would hurt so I just turned off a portion of myself that was creative. Comments like, "That will make great kindling some day" about a piece of art you created would turn anyone off of creating anything I would guess. Because of the contention it caused, I gave up something I loved to do. I wasn't allowed to put any color on the walls in my home. I begged to paint the door frames a different color than white so that the kids fingerprints wouldn't show up and would hear about how homes with white walls were better for resale and when I would want to have pictures of our family on the wall, I would get told that we couldn't put holes in the wall because of resale value.
Finally towards the end of my marriage, I just started hanging pictures even though I knew there would be lectures. One day, a woman and her two kids were staying with us for a few months while their house was being built so I asked her for some help hanging some pictures on the wall. I told her word for word what we would hear when my spouse arrived home making jokes about it. Five p.m. rolls around and in he comes and said the exact words I said he would. We both burst into laughter and he was NOT happy about it but I just realized that my life was black and white and there was NO room for color.
After the divorce, I decided I needed color and that my children needed to feel like they had choices so I let them choose colors of their rooms etc. I have a post about that here. Once all the girls rooms were painted, I took on the living room. I started loving art and looking at styles and finding my favorite artists and I have three I truly admire, Carl Bloch is one. I was able to see an art show with his work and when I found out I could attend, I was SO excited because I truly admired his work for such a long time. I didn't blog when we attended that which I am a bit surprised about since he is such a big deal in my world. Another of my top three is Liz Lemon Swindle and here is a link to the day I got to meet her and get a signed picture of Christ.
Here is a link to a post where I share about my thoughts on art, and how I think I came to like it.
Another of my top three artists is Simon Dewey. He is so amazing. I have many of his works in my home and my sister sent me a signed picture from him for Christmas one year. I LOVE all these artists because they capture emotion in the face of Christ that I don't see in other artist work. I love the colors in Greg Olsen's Christ depictions but the face isn't as crisp as in the other three artists work. I had the thought to go room to room and count how many pictures I have of Christ in my home. My guess is at least fifty. Here is another post about art in my home -My art wall blog is here. I asked my girls over the holiday if any of them wanted to attend the Norman Rockwell exhibit which was within a days drive of our home. Most of the girls replied, "Who is that?" I felt sad that I hadn't exposed them to art much earlier in their lives. Only the older girls knew who he was. I knew they would go if I dragged them and figured we could go over the New Years break but since they didn't care, I thought I would see if I could get tickets when I would be traveling by myself. I was so Happy that Princess Two wanted to attend with me and was able to acquire tickets.
Getting in the car to head out of town, I look down to see if I have enough gas and smiled when I saw the trip odometer with 111 miles on it. I ran back in to get my camera and phone which I had forgotten. I took a picture of the 111 and looked in the mail. I recognized my dad's writing. He wrote me the SWEETEST note I have ever gotten from my dad. He wrote that he was proud of me for not letting my trials of life make me a bitter person. He was just truly kind and understanding and I was blubbering as I pulled out of town and called him to thank him for his thoughtfulness. I spoke to him last week when I missed going to our family Thanksgiving party due to my girls coming here. I shared my health updates and other things and we had a good conversation. His note was in response to our visit.
I knew it was going to be a good day. I need to get a new windshield for the car to pass inspection so I stopped at a place in the city where the art show was to see if they could do it for me but they didn't have one and since they don't manufacture Suzuki cars anymore, it is expensive. I had the though about getting one from a junk yard and looked down and saw a penny so I will be trying to find one cheaper there. I also hear my favorite band, U2 on the radio at two stores I went to while in the town. I just KNEW it was a good day.
I meet up with Princess Two and we go to the museum and she wants to get a picture next to the "LOVE" statue. I laugh to myself as the sign in front says, "Do not touch" so in my head I am thinking, "Yep, pretty much don't touch or mess with Love!" It was funny because I tried to get on the inside of the picture and Princess pushed me twice to the outside even though she kinds of melts into the sign with her red coat. I think she wants to be closer to Love. But, the "do not touch" sign does ring true to me. Once burned by love, it can be difficult to trust and open yourself up to that again as you don't want to be hurt.
On to the exhibit, she whipped through lightning speed and I just took my time. I didn't want to miss all the subtle things he put into his art that one may not notice unless taking the time to look. I had NO idea what an amazing artist he was until viewing many of his painting for many minutes and examining the smallest details. He studied the history, the facts, colors, faces and many times drew or painted several renditions. I have to add him to my favorite top five list. He wasn't afraid to make a statement and played with things in his art that were very bold for his time taking on race, hypocrisy, judgments, and many other things that are contemplative.
I noticed in his "Southern Justice" rendition, that if you look at the shadow of the police officer, it almost looks like the face of a demon. The rock placements and hat etc. It was just something I noticed after standing there for a few minutes. In his "The problem we all live with" painting of the desegregation order and after standing there for a few minutes, I could see muted words on the wall like he wanted the subconscious mind to pick up what the words were but you couldn't quite make them out just by trying to read it. The fingernails of the federal agent were bitten to blood on one finger and jagged on another. These type of details you would only get by standing in front of the real paintings.
On his "Art Critic" painting, they showed several of his renditions but on the final painting, I was fascinated that on the little pallet the man in the painting is carrying, he actually had chunks of paint giving the painting texture. I would never have guessed that as it is a somewhat risky move as it may get bumped or knocked off. Another painting has his words and admiration of Walt Disney as he gave it as a gift to the famous artist. There were several painting he wrote little notes to someone down by his signature as he gave them as gifts.
I also noted that he had many different ways of signing his art. Sometimes he used NR, others he used his classic roman type block letters he is most known for and yet in many paintings, it was cursive and more artistic. Sometimes his signature was in BOLD RED color on a dark paint. Other times, his signature was in many different colors almost hidden in the colors of the painting. Many times, he used himself or his children in the pairings. Often friends and family were the models and in the "Southern Justice" painting above, he actually put on a white shirt, dipped his hand in red paint and used his hand as the bloody model hand for the painting.
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED getting to know this artist in a more personal way. What a blessing it was to be able to just go and "be" with the art. Princess Two left me and went home and I was so grateful I had my own car so I didn't feel rushed. It was so wonderful getting to see that and I left with a huge smile on my face. My back hurt from standing for three hours but I didn't mind as I totally enjoyed it. I have a dream to someday get to visit Europe and see some of the great art found there.
I got a 111, a "In God We Trust" penny moment, my favorite band a few times and got to spend time with Princess Two, eat at one of my favorite restaurants and she bought my meal, I got a great note from my father and I had a great evening which I will share about tomorrow as this post was going to be short and fast and ended up being several hours in the posting. It seems to go that way...... It was a wonderful day!!!!!
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