February 25, 2020

One: More background

Sometime in 2018 we moved into a house in the woods of Connecticut. The house came furnished, but what meant was the 90+ year old owner just walked out the door and left every single thing. It was amazing, interesting, and overwhelming. We we living with someone else’s art, aesthetic, music and books surrounding us. It also meant a huge dumpster filled with random things that could not be used, given to a good home, donated or recycled. We are still sifting through his things.

We work often and pretty hard as physicians and operate in a realm that is not aesthetically guided. Weekends in the woods became a craving and then a true respite. We did not know it would be major inspiration to get back to childhood passions for art and making things.

One day I was reading a ridiculously well written book by Benjamin Black, I think it was the first one, Christine Falls. There was a part where two people were driving and looking at a view amidst some meaningful and intense emotions. Something to do with the writing just came to life in my mind. I am not at all a visual thinker, I think in words. I cannot easily conjure a picture in my head. The strangest part was it was not a detailed image of the view or the road they were driving on, it was of a specific picture that I felt a strong compulsion to paint. I felt I needed to do it right away before it went away. Because things get hazy, I don’t know if it was right then, or later. I don’t know if I had to go get paints and paper or used some I dug up. But either way what came out was very small, but spawned a whole movement, albeit in only our dining room. The original was on a scrap of paper, photo below. The Dining Room at that time was wallpapered in a 1990s floral that truly felt like it was assaulting my eyes, but it ended up not mattering. Soon we both got into it, and I learned of the hidden art skills that my husband of many years secretly possessed (see the mourning dove above). It has seen many evolutions in styles and now is just getting a little addicting. In the beginning there was often a fire crackling, wine in the glass, and some inherited record on the turntable.

Lately I have been so much more inspired by what is around me and am looking with intense curiosity at the work of others. I don’t just like the end product, but love to think about, and imagine the backstory. How did it come to be? Who made, how did this piece of magic fall out of someone’s brain and get onto the paper? Where do these artists work? Is it messy, is there a view? Is is loud, is it alone, is it secret? I just really really really want to know more.

Pics below: The formerly wallpapered dining room; The first full output of my personal artnight 365; inspo in the woods aka nature is prettier than any painting; The simple motif that had to be painted