Have I ever told you about J. Kirk Richards?  If I haven’t, shame on me.  He is one of my very most favorite artists.  I love his colors and visible brushstrokes.  Many of his paintings even seem to glow.  How does he do that? 

Here are some of his latest works available for purchase.  One day, I will have enough money to buy an original!  Until then, I will just stare at his website a couple times a day to make me happy.

An Angel’s Whisper

Cantata (Wir eilen mit Schwachen)

Flower Garden

Holy Family

Children Singing

Woman with Holly

All pictures from here

This is the cover of this month’s Ensign, a publication of articles put out by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I was lucky enough to see this painting in person when it was on display at the 8th International Art Competition put on by the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City.

It’s gorgeous on a magazine cover or on the internet, but even more so in person.  (Isn’t that always the case?)

Entitled Flight, it depicts the story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ flight into Egypt.  I love it for the innocent face of the boy Jesus and for the determined and steady face of Joseph.  And, oh, those billowing robes!  Aren’t they stunning?

You can visit the blog of the artist, Rose Datoc Dall, here.  Take a minute to click on the images on the site’s sidebar.  She has links to her images of Mary, Joseph and Christ series, interior landscape series, Adam and Eve series and more.  I especially love the painting of Adam and Eve, which you can find in the link to her paintings and in the Adam and Eve series link.

I haven’t been in the world of art lately.  I’ve been in the busy world of mothering, teaching piano and learning the ropes of a new writing job.

Whenever I get too busy, finding time to appreciate art is one of the first things to go.  It’s unfortunate, but understandable (I think).  Everybody gives up something when they are busy.  What is the first thing you give up when life gets too hectic?

One thing I love about viewing paintings is that you can’t run by them if you want to appreciate them.  You won’t get the story or the emotions that way.  You have to stop, think and admire.

So, since I’ve been too busy to stop, think and admire, I am posting one painting that always makes me do just that.

This is Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt.  It tells the story of Christ after his resurrection.  Before the scene in this painting takes place, Christ has walked with disciples who did not recognize him.  While having supper at Emmaus, the disciples’ eyes are opened and they recognize who they are with.

I’m a sucker for the deep colors of Dutch painting, so I would love this painting even if I didn’t know the story.  But when I saw it at the Louvre, I took the time to sit and stare.  I noticed how Rembrandt used those deep colors to convey the dramatic understanding of the disciples.

This photograph doesn’t do justice, but notice how the light is brightest around Christ’s head.  It seems to gradually reach the men whose faces, when touched by the light, show a sudden understanding.

That symbolism can be taken in so many ways, but I love the idea of light.  When we are in the darkness of grief, selfishness, ignorance, hatred etc., we don’t have a full understanding.  When we look to truth and love, the darkness escapes as we enter the light.  I know that not all my readers believe in the same things I do.  But I want to share that, just like in this painting, I believe Jesus Christ is the light.  The light that brings truth, love and joy.

Alright, I know you’ve been dying to know where this sign was posted.

If you are ever traveling through Nevada along I-80, your sight will be teased with this crazy structure.

You will speed by it at 75 mph (because you don’t go 85 anymore after that ticket in California), blink, rub your eyes, and look back, daring your brain to process the sight.  You may question: Was that a mirage?  We are in the desert, after all.   Could there really be something interesting to look at out here amidst the tumbleweeds and infinite dust?  And just WHAT IN THE WORLD IS IT?

And if you have been on that awful stretch of I-80 for long enough, you will just file that question away and keep going.  Because stopping in the desert only means you have to remain in the desert that much longer.

But if you have driven past that structure since you were 9 years old, you will finally say, “Enough is enough.  What IS this place?” And you will stop. 

A Native American named Rolling Mountain Thunder created this fascinating structure as a monument to Native Americans.  He built it (with some help from wanderers) during the 60’s and 70’s from items found within a radius of Imlay, Nevada. 

The only thing he paid for during the construction of the house/building/artwork/thing was concrete.  He wanted to make a statement that the “white man” is wasteful.  And the statement is loud and clear as you walk around the property, viewing hundreds of bottles creatively used for insulation in the walls,

police car windshields transformed into windows,

who-knows-what as part of a fence/wall

and old cars and machines as fences,

to name just a few.

We discovered that the “Enter at Your Own Risk” is a necessary sign as we tiptoed around and through broken glass and who knows what else.

The little dear got to walk for only a smidgen of a second before we realized she was about to eat glass.

So…if you ever find yourself in the middle of Nevada, bored out of your mind, do stop at this place.  You can’t miss it.  Plus, it is truly fascinating to see up close.  Just be sure to wear steel-toed boots.

I love our weekly Library Day.  I don’t know why.  As soon as we enter the building, my daughter yanks her hand from mine and runs around using her “outside voice” to share her excitement, paying absolutely no attention to the shelves and stacks of books surrounding her.  Not exactly enlightening- for her or for me.

But I still love it.  I love the smell of libraries- you know what I’m talking about, right?  The smell of books is absolutely intoxicating.  It can take me back to memories of my childhood faster than a bag of popples or Pound Puppies (if the word popples just made you smile with memories, you must be a product of the 80’s).

So, even though a library visit for me now resembIes the lucky winner of a 10 minute shopping spree (picture me running around like a crazy person, throwing random books into my bag while chasing and shushing my daughter), I still love the nostalgia and the comfort of a library.

And it’s double fun for me since I never really know what I’ve picked out in my mad dash until I arrive home and go through the stash with my eager toddler (who, of course, is completely calm once we enter our house)!

This week, when I arrived home, I began reading this story book to my daughter.  Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford.

I was enthralled.  My impatient daughter wanted me to turn the pages, but I wanted to crawl inside of each page to spend time searching and observing. The artwork is gorgeous!  Let me repeat that: Gorgeous!

The story is equally gorgeous- a boy in modern day Baghdad learns deep meanings about peace and war by practicing calligraphy- beautiful calligraphy which graces the pages as part of the beautiful artwork.

This is one I am going to have to buy.  And I don’t buy books very often.  (I’m a cheapskate- but that’s another post.)

My very talented friend just opened her own Etsy shop with gorgeous homemade notebooks and journals.  I’ve been telling her ever since I saw her work that she should sell it, so I wish I could say I’m the reason it’s there now for your buying pleasure.  But, alas, she quietly and sneakily opened the shop, and I’m sure I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  Let’s just pretend, though!

Go check out her shop, Icarusbook, here!

After reading Recovering Charles, I’ve been immersing myself in New Orleans music and art.  I’m obsessed with the city.  Today, I stumbled upon this Louisiana artist, Angel Turner Dyke.  I adore her bright colors and curvy, fluid brushstrokes.

She’s completely self taught!  Isn’t she marvelous? 

If you are interested in doing a weekly or monthly guest post about your favorite art, email me at thrilledbythethought {at} yahoo {dot} com.  Your guest post would have a link back to your site or store, of course!

Katsushika Hokusai lived in Japan from 1760-1849. In a time when Western contact was strictly forbidden for the Japanese, Hokusai found and studied smuggled European copper plate engravings. He used the Western methods of shading, coloring, realism, and landscape perspective in his art. He was obsessed with art, and left over 30,000 works in the form of paintings, woodblock prints, sketches and more. This is probably his most famous.

And here are some other goodies.

I love his work.  What do you think of it?

The January Blues are catching up to me, and causing me to feel a little un-inspired. Will you help me get out of my funk?

I’m re-posting one of my first entries that tells about my absolute favorite artist of all time. I’m doing this with the hope that, after you read this, you will share with me your absolute favorite artist of all time and why. If you would like to do a post about it on your blog, leave me a link, and I’ll link back to you. Or just leave a comment! I look forward to getting out of this yucky funk, and finding some great artists!

This painting shaped my life. It led me to my major in Art History and began my love affair with art. When I was a freshman in college, my roommate and I loved to download free screensavers. One week, I downloaded a screensaver of Vermeer. I had never heard of him, but hey! It was a free screensaver.

Whenever this painting came up on the screensaver, I stopped whatever I was doing and just stared. It was so beautiful and stunning to me. There was something in her eyes that made me want to know who she was and why she was painted. Thus began my quest to learn all about Vermeer. I could not find much information about Vermeer at that time; only that he painted 35 paintings in his life, had many children, a Catholic wife, and was very poor.

There are many more resources for learning about Vermeer now. This website has oodles of information. I was thrilled when I found it, and I’m slowly making my way through it.

It is safe to say that Vermeer is my favorite artist of all time. Here are the Vermeers I have seen in real life. Each one was so stunning. I love to guess what the people in the paintings are thinking; what their lives are like. Vermeer did such a fabulous job of capturing quiet moments. His detail and color are absolutely incredible.

Allegory of Faith

Study of a Young Woman

Girl Interrupted in Her Music

The Lacemaker

A Lady Seated at a Virginal

A Lady Standing at a Virginal

A Maid Asleep The cloth on the table looks so real when you are standing in front of this painting.

The Music Lesson

Officer and Laughing Girl

Woman with a Lute

Mistress and Maid. When you walk by the room where this painting hangs (Frick Collection, NYC), the yellow coat catches your eye above anything else in that room. It is stunning.

The Astronomer. My absolute FAVORITE of all the Vermeers. My husband found this painting in the Louvre before me, and just stood there gleefully grinning, as if he had won the prized egg in the Easter egg hunt. He was so thrilled to be the one to show me my favorite painting!

What do you think? Are you in love yet?

Andrew Wyeth, painter of this famous “Christina’s World” recently passed away.

This painting has always made me sad because the girl (Christina) was paralyzed from the waist down.  Wyeth was inspired to paint this when he saw her crawling across her field.

I think it’s a beautiful painting, but just so sad.