From Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper

I didn't go to my life drawing class today. Was not feeling that well at 9 am so skipped it. Then about 10:30 went to do some necessary shopping. Oldest daughter, Jenny, is having a birthday in April and has asked for a new breadmaker since she's worn her old one out. And I wanted a few new tops for spring - I need to stop wearing tee shirts with writing on them all the time! So running in between the raindrops (and there certainly have been plenty of them since yesterday morning with no end in sight today) to and from the car with various errands.

Then after lunch, Jerry and I went to the Taft Museum of Art to see "From Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper: American Watercolor Masterpieces from the Brooklyn Museum." Well worth attending and it's free admission and parking on Wednesday :) I was writing down my favorites with my pen and docent came by and said, "Let me offer you a pencil," giving me a tiny golf pencil that was barely sharpened, adding, "You can't use a pen in the museum." Now all of the works were behind glass so I couldn't have written on any of them. I could have written on the information/title cards beside the paintings - but I could have done that with the pencil, too. I'd never heard of that before! My absolute favorite (if you get a chance to go, you must stand in front of it closely and then move back and see if from a distance and enjoy it for a full 5 minutes) was "Catskill Stream" by Gordon Stevenson. It was a riot of color and it was completely stunning in the skill he had to convey this scene. Perfect! I also liked "Deer and Cactus" by Kai Gotzsche, which was a wonderful composition and the design element in it was amusing and surprising. Great colors in the cactus to show the greens merging, too. Of course, there were works by Homer, Sargent (none of my favorites of his), Hassan, Marin and Hopper. And in another room, in the permanent collection, are some small but lovely JMW Turners you should see.

Since I've been home, I've been reading, Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland, a fictionalized account of Renoir's painting and life in and around Paris in 1880. It's a thick book and I'm wondering if it will hold my attention, but so far, so good...(this is right after the Franco-Prussian War and a dealer of art supplies refuses to sell Renoir Prussian Blue because of it's name).

So no painting or drawing for me today - but still immersed in artwork.