Provenance

It was "Artist's Day" at a local museum last week. So I had no choice but to sneak off during a gorgeous sunny afternoon and enjoy a private gallery tour, escaping into the breathtaking world of Art. I listened intently to the lovely older woman giving the guided walk and I admired her very artsy leather lilac jacket. I decided that giving gallery tours through really cool rooms where priceless art works hung suspended on velvet walls in darkened rooms would be a pretty neat job. Unfortunately, I have never taken one Art History Class and I am pretty much a self taught and incredibly struggling artist. Still, I found myself musing about what I would say to my own gallery group, as together we would study Peter Paul Rubens' painting of the Princess of Conde, which BTW, is my personal favorite. And where does one find such a red beaded dress as the one Princess Charlotte-Margerite de Montmorency is wearing?

The other works to which I was particularly drawn shared the theme of escapism. Not surprisingly, this category has a recurring theme of nature. "Wild color and an over active imagination interpret reality before expressing itself on canvas", I would say to my tour group.

The first tour that I took was fascinating but I must admit that the second one was not as enthralling. So, I surreptitiously slipped into the other gallery rooms which held pieces from as early as the 1600's and I practiced giving my first tour to myself. The muted lighting and the cool air of the controlled room temperature made you actually feel the weight of the centuries. Art History literally comes alive when you stare into the eyes of a portraiture and you start to feel its beating pulse. I was mesmerized by the strangest facts. I could not understand how the artists' identities of several incredible paintings were unknown and why their provenance remained so hotly debated. I felt sad that such amazing talent had drifted into obscurity. Then I remembered that many of these pieces were created well over 400 years ago. I know that restoration is a scary process, requiring much skill and patience. However, I simply could not get over the quality of the oils and the condition of the canvases. I guess like a lot of things, they don't make art supplies like they used to. LOL.

I finally finished re-painting my Rock-n-Art and it is once again displayed underneath the Crimson King. A very cool place to spend the summer. These are pics of the front and back of it. Done in acrylics which seems to reflect too much of the sun which creates that glare. Next time, I may actually try working with house paint. May eliminate that problem.

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. — Japanese Proverb