Renoir
I recently went to a once in a lifetime event… An exhibit of Renoir Landscapes only being shown at one museum in the United States: The Philadelphia Art Museum. It was amazing…
Renior was an up and coming artist at a time of ground-breaking new ideas. As one of the first impressionists, he pushed to make painting go to a new level. The little bit of information I knew about him before I went to this exhibit was only that he was an impressionist and that his painting style was unique and started a new realm in the world of art.
A few interesting things stayed with me from that day. The label impressionists gave to their painting style was “en plein air” meaning “to paint in the open air.” He and fellow impressionists painted from a point of view that took the viewer in to a moment in time depicting a scene that had happened while portraying an idea of movement in the painting. To see this first hand was breath-taking. I was only inches away from the repetitive strokes and the genius behind them. It was so inspiring. I have wanted to get out my oil paints, for the first time mind you, and try to replicate what I saw. Of course, it never happened and it has been a week. I think that may be why life is hard for me at times. It would be nice to be one of those people who creates at any whim and lives for the moment, but that isn’t a mother’s life, nor a Christian’s, and in the end it would be empty I suppose… but still it would be nice to grab the moment when the inspiration hits… To cease the day and bring forth amazing beauty. Then again maybe at this point in my life, I would most likely be dissatisfied with the outcome and my lack of talent. But this too is just a season…
Just one of the paintings I saw…
What amazes me is the tiny little brush strokes that make up the light and shadows and even the objects you see.
Min,
I hear you on the difficulty of turning inspiration into art. Being a writer/director/customizer/etc, I’ve become terribly depressed in the past over my inability to let sudden surges of inspirado drive me to the table to create and unleash art on the world. It is a deeply hard dichotomy to reach, the balance of life and art.
It’s interesting that you should post this article, and I should read it today. Last night, Jamie and I watched Spike Lee’s film, “Mo’ Better Blues”, and the message of it is that life is art, in a sense. The film follows an aching musicians hope to create powerful and honest music, but in the process he ostracizes himself from others, fails to form full relationships, and ultimately loses his dream and descends into self-loathing. His salvation comes in committing to a woman and having a child and passing his music onto said child. It’s a sad but beautiful film, and it spoke volumes to me, because I have desired to be the lone wolf riding a wave of self-indulgent artistic pursuits, but such a life tends to be disastrous. be encouraged, you are not alone in your struggles.
Love ya,
C