I love how you trace the moment art first claimed you, not through expertise but recognition. Sometimes the things we meet by accident end up shaping our entire way of seeing.
I so appreciate what you've written this evening.....and in a way my story too ....and now late in life I paint even though I have no innate skill or talent but I want to find out what and where the colors and brush strokes and additions take me......everything is an experiment and a revelation, stepping off the edge .... but seeing, not falling. Thank you so much for this.
Awww...Mary. This post makes me so happy. For you. For myself. Happy that art and pubs and cloudy days happen. Happy that all three persist even while the regime led by your uncle is trashing so many other simple and complex pleasures.
Just finished listening to a 1960 Dave Brubeck Quartet album picked up at an estate sale, called “Time Further Out.” The music is Brubeck’s interpretation of Joan Miro’s 1925 painting shown on the album cover, and it’s amazing how an artist in one medium can inspire an artist in another. The album notes say that Miro’s painting expresses “in visual terms (Brubeck’s) own approach to music—a search for something new within old forms, an unexpected perspective, a surprising order and inner balance that belies the spontaneity of composition.” Your post was a perfect follow-up for me, a rare moment of synchronicity. Thank you for the Rousseau art—sublime, just like the music I heard.
Rousseau, Miró, Dave Brubeck. Oh! I'm craving those chilly nights in The City. Quite the inspired combo! Fireplace and a glass of wine, or Cognac! And perhaps a little Stan Getz to cap the night! ☺️ 👍
Mary's art teacher at Tufts, her friend, said, “Start with what you love.” Maybe because of my advanced age, I also thought of "End with what you love."
Oh, i agree! Now that i am 'old and full of sleep and nodding by the fire,' i can just read what i want to read, when i want to, and spend a day with Shakespeare or looking at statues that i love. End with what you love.
Yes...I should have added, I do this when I start to read, or sit to watch a video, because I never know...in addition, I have to turn on my oxygen concentrator.
I used to just read, or watch....now I have to Get Ready to do those things.
I can certainly empathize with using an oxygen concentrator. Last year, I got stuck in a situation where I had to use one. Reading and my neck pains seemed minor by comparison. Thanks for helping me and I hope you will be able to get off the concentrator. .
Lovely end to a snowy weekend. We went to the Barnes before it was incorporated into PMA. Always a treasure. Now is a perfect time to enjoy the pleasures of art, fine or mundane, reading great history, fiction, enjoying what little fine films, TV shows remain to inspire and just entertain us. Heaven knows the daily crap in Hitler's WH gives us heartaches, so we do what we can to find joy and peace in what makes us feel something other than despair. Thx Mary we needed that
Thank you for the article, Mary! I like the ebb and flow of this article. My beloved mother who raised owned a Norman Rockwell painting! They found it , and don’t remember where! Please subscribe to The Good in Us By Mary L. Trump.
It's interesting to me that you noticed and appreciated the "ebb and flow" in Mary's article.
I did notice there was an intangible something, but couldn't put my finger on it. So, after reading your comment, I put together the unpredictable, unexpected back-and-forth rhythms of energy and reflection, which can best be described as the "ebb and flow" of her article, similar to ocean tides. Thanks for your insight.
I love how you trace the moment art first claimed you, not through expertise but recognition. Sometimes the things we meet by accident end up shaping our entire way of seeing.
Beautifully said.
Art teacher?
No, but I had some wonderful ones along the way who helped me see and appreciate more.
This is a perfect Sunday evening nightcap. I'm not familiar with Rousseau's work so this is a great introduction. Thank you.
I so appreciate what you've written this evening.....and in a way my story too ....and now late in life I paint even though I have no innate skill or talent but I want to find out what and where the colors and brush strokes and additions take me......everything is an experiment and a revelation, stepping off the edge .... but seeing, not falling. Thank you so much for this.
How wonderful, to be able to feel free and unfettered by expectations of an outcome!
We all need quiet days like yours, days which bring unexpected clarity…and offering the world from a different angle.
I *love* reading inspired words. Thank you for sharing your gift with us—and inviting us into your world.
Thanks Mary loved your commentary on art. Nor am I familiar with Rousseau’s. I enjoy your writing it has a down to earth authenticity.
Awww...Mary. This post makes me so happy. For you. For myself. Happy that art and pubs and cloudy days happen. Happy that all three persist even while the regime led by your uncle is trashing so many other simple and complex pleasures.
Amen
Just finished listening to a 1960 Dave Brubeck Quartet album picked up at an estate sale, called “Time Further Out.” The music is Brubeck’s interpretation of Joan Miro’s 1925 painting shown on the album cover, and it’s amazing how an artist in one medium can inspire an artist in another. The album notes say that Miro’s painting expresses “in visual terms (Brubeck’s) own approach to music—a search for something new within old forms, an unexpected perspective, a surprising order and inner balance that belies the spontaneity of composition.” Your post was a perfect follow-up for me, a rare moment of synchronicity. Thank you for the Rousseau art—sublime, just like the music I heard.
Rousseau, Miró, Dave Brubeck. Oh! I'm craving those chilly nights in The City. Quite the inspired combo! Fireplace and a glass of wine, or Cognac! And perhaps a little Stan Getz to cap the night! ☺️ 👍
Perfect 👌 and your great love & perspective for the complex arts & love thereof is so beautiful and totally different from your horrible uncle!!
In many ways, it is not only "totally different" but also "totally opposite".
Mary's art teacher at Tufts, her friend, said, “Start with what you love.” Maybe because of my advanced age, I also thought of "End with what you love."
Oh, i agree! Now that i am 'old and full of sleep and nodding by the fire,' i can just read what i want to read, when i want to, and spend a day with Shakespeare or looking at statues that i love. End with what you love.
I've also been nodding a lot over the past year or two. So much so that I keep hurting my neck. One of the joys of getting old, I suppose.
Find a comfortable neck/travel pillow. It's done wonders for me. Doesn't allow my neck to bend to the hurting point.
The problem is, I unexpectedly nod off before I have a chance to position a neck pillow. :-(
LOL
Yes...I should have added, I do this when I start to read, or sit to watch a video, because I never know...in addition, I have to turn on my oxygen concentrator.
I used to just read, or watch....now I have to Get Ready to do those things.
I can certainly empathize with using an oxygen concentrator. Last year, I got stuck in a situation where I had to use one. Reading and my neck pains seemed minor by comparison. Thanks for helping me and I hope you will be able to get off the concentrator. .
Hear you loud and clear...🙏🤗🤗
Lovely end to a snowy weekend. We went to the Barnes before it was incorporated into PMA. Always a treasure. Now is a perfect time to enjoy the pleasures of art, fine or mundane, reading great history, fiction, enjoying what little fine films, TV shows remain to inspire and just entertain us. Heaven knows the daily crap in Hitler's WH gives us heartaches, so we do what we can to find joy and peace in what makes us feel something other than despair. Thx Mary we needed that
Gorgeous.
Thank you for the article, Mary! I like the ebb and flow of this article. My beloved mother who raised owned a Norman Rockwell painting! They found it , and don’t remember where! Please subscribe to The Good in Us By Mary L. Trump.
It's interesting to me that you noticed and appreciated the "ebb and flow" in Mary's article.
I did notice there was an intangible something, but couldn't put my finger on it. So, after reading your comment, I put together the unpredictable, unexpected back-and-forth rhythms of energy and reflection, which can best be described as the "ebb and flow" of her article, similar to ocean tides. Thanks for your insight.
What a treat! We had the pleasure of seeing that exhibit last fall. I resonated with everything you said. Thank you!
Absolutely beautiful…
Thank you for sharing these Rousseau paintings. Although I've struggled to describe his work, they have a lovely, otherworldly feel.