Last week I acquired my first original painting! Hardly a Monet… this oil on canvas (in the impasto technique) was found at a local arts and crafts shop. Its colors and the artist’s use of light immediately appealed to me so I took the plunge!
Over the past year or so I have developed a keen interest in paintings… especially by Impressionist’s such as Monet, Renoir and other members of the “Société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs”.
During this time I have also been fortunate enough to do some traveling and have viewed some of their work at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Metropolitan in New York.
And although I have a few photographs by friends and photographers who’s work I admire… I have never owned an original painting. This is a new and exciting experience enhanced by the fact that I am continuing to try and learn as much as I can about the work of Monet and Renoir.
But visits to such places as the Pushkin and the Met can only be occasional. And I will never have the resources to own a Monet! ))) But this simple vase of flowers by an unknown artist also makes me happy. It makes me smile inside and encourages me to contemplate and reflect on things besides the obvious.
And whether a work by Monet, Renoir or Vermeer (who wasn't an impressionist but who's work I also like) hanging in a famous museum or by an unknown artist who's work never makes it beyond the coffee shop walls... isn't this a large part of what all art aspires to achieve?
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| DailyArt Free |
I case you haven't noticed there is a digital marketplace full of millions of apps out there that promise to make your life both better and easier. But I have found that most of these apps typically "over-promise and under-deliver"... not living up the hype and their reviews online.
Often complicated.. glitchy and with no documentation I simply end up deleting most of them from my devices after a few days out of frustration and/or disappointment with their performance.
But I have recently found one gem of an app that breaks the mold and overcomes the hype... over-delivering by adding value to my day and putting a smile on my face :-)
The app is "DailyArt" and it is wonderfully simple in concept... "Great art delivered to your phone once a day".
Once installed this app simply sends you a reminder about the same time each day that your daily art piece is ready for viewing. Open the app and you are usually greeted with a painting or sculpture for your enjoyment and viewing pleasure. Along with the art piece there is also an informative... and often educational and thought-provoking write-up about the artist or the history and style of the piece. Perfect for the budding art lover! For me it is a 5-minute-a-day art education class :-)
I liked this app so much I recently upgraded to the Pro version which allows for archiving your favorites along with some other nice little enhancements. It is worth every penny for the and the best $5.00 USD I have spent in a long time.
A link to the Apple version of the app is here; https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dailyart-free-daily-dose-fine/id547982045?mt=8 and it is available for Android at the Google Play Store.
Even if you don't think you like art... give it a try! I guarantee you will enjoy it and start looking forward to that notification tone each day as much as I do!
