While wandering through Rebellion Books in Bedford, Pennsylvania I spotted this fantastic print called Fairytale Wood. All the little animals enjoying themselves and living peacefully won my heart. There’s even a black cat.
The colors and details make this image seem simultaneously realistic and magical.
It didn’t seem to be for sale. Sigh. It feels like everything I actually want to buy these days is not for sale.
Turns out, Mary Brett (1902-1990) was an English artist whose illustrations have been known to generations of children. She had little formal training but completed a correspondence course before she began a career illustrating and writing children’s books.
I went to see Lukas Nelson last night on the campus of my alma mater, Ohio University. He did a terrific show that was high energy and nonstop music. If you aren’t familiar, he is incredibly talented with a unique timbre that reminds you of his dad Willie – but his own style.
I’m going to need to channel some of that energy today since I got home well past my bedtime and then couldn’t sleep. But it was worth sacrificing a little sleep. Plus, I got a few snaps of the college green and Court Street which was crawling with young bobcats.
Maybe some of those photos will wind up here. For now, here are a few.
If you ever find yourself in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa. you will likely be impressed by the variety of things to see and appreciate.
There’s one in particular piece you should look for while exploring. In a rather unremarkable stairwell, there is a large Dale Chihuly glass chandelier. You can stand under it on the stairs or you can appreciate it at eye level from a hallway.
Chihuly’s work is recognizable because it’s so different than what most glass artists are doing. He mimics shapes found in nature, the colors are brilliant even when he’s using a monochromatic scheme, and the scale is typically quite large.
A lot of places would be tempted to hang this piece in their lobby so you can’t help to see it. They would want to show it off . At Westmoreland, it’s placed somewhere quiet, somewhere that you feel like you’re discovering it, and where you can quietly contemplate how the glass handles the light.
There’s a quote that is widely attributed to Vincent Van Gogh despite there being no proof he actually said it. It says “Normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk but no flowers grow on it.”
Even if he didn’t say it, I would like to think he might have agreed. Van Gogh today is one of the most famous painters of all time. Even if you aren’t an “art person,” you’ve likely seen Van Gogh’s most recognizable works on everything from calendars and screen savers to phone cases and wallets.
During his lifetime though, Van Gogh struggled. He was born into an upper middle class family but mental illness haunted him and his story ended prematurely thanks to a self inflicted gunshot wound. The impressionistic painter saw no commercial success in his lifetime and yet had such a unique world view his works are among the most moving and timeless you’ll ever see.
The road for Van Gogh was anything but paved and easy. Maybe that’s why he was able to give us flowers and stars and massive skies – things that we all need but don’t always see well for ourselves while we build our lives on whatever road we can carve out.
I have been fortunate to see several of his paintings in person and to do the immersive 3D installation (pictured) when it came to Columbus a few years ago.
His paintings are some of the most easily recognized in a museum and I will always stop in my tracks to admire them. There’s something that feels like they are about to explode out of the frame. They have movement. If you move fast enough, you might catch a falling star or pluck a flower from the vase.
Van Gogh’s life clearly was hard and the commercial success that came in the decades following his death seems bittersweet given that it was too little too late for him. I wish it were easier for him but I’m grateful for all that he accomplished on his life’s road.
Who needs normal when you can have sunflowers? Ask yourself that the next time you feel bad about yourself or want to take an alternate path. Who needs normal? Go do the things that bring you more flowers and stars.
Swaying palm trees. Rough seas. Brilliant red Poinciana trees. Cotton candy sunsets that light up the canvas in ways you might not know possible.
That’s what you’ll find among the paintings of the Florida Highwaymen. I had the pleasure of seeing several as part of a special exhibit at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art a few weeks ago.
From the early fifties through the eighties, there were 26 African American painters who were called The Highwaymen. They painted gorgeous rural and beach scenes from the Florida landscape.
They painted in home workshops and garages, creating a prolific catalog of work that they sold door-to-door to businesses and individuals. They could also be seen selling from the trunks of their cars along the highways. Back in the day, these paintings cost about $25 apiece. Today one of these paintings can command $5,000 to $10,000.
Despite the talents of these individuals, racial segregation in Florida prevented them from being sold in professional galleries.
The museum had laminated sheets for each painter with brief biographies and I was fascinated by the origins of these artists. Most were self taught. They knew each other and mentored one another and you can see how they influenced one another.
Their stories are tragic and discouraging, inspiring and thought provoking. Their work is stunning.
This exhibition just closed so I’m sorry to say you can’t go see these paintings in Pennsylvania. That’s a shame too because they did a nice job showing the art while telling the stories of the artists and of the Jim Crow world they lived in. The fact they faced such a grim and racist reality but chose to paint such beauty is incredible.
If you ever get a chance to go see some of these paintings, I hope you will. They are extraordinary.
Want to know more about these painters? Click here to find biographies of the 25 men and one woman who we know as the Highwaymen.
