it's morning
yet still full dark
we're up and at 'em
goin' to a friend's house
before seven a.m.
the children that is
then on to school
from there
because the parents
and grandparents
are goin' on a road trip
a one day trip
from home to Chicago
them home again
over 250 miles
round trip
hopin' to miss the traffic
thus, the early start
the sky begins to brighten
red appears
in a stripe
along the horizon
my breath catches
at the sight
red red too
not hot pink
or dark orange
red
you can't miss it
I'm mesmerized
as I watch the sun appear
glowing bright red
over Illinois farmland
harvest is nearly done
the fields are emptying
the sky is lightening
in vivid hues of color
fabulous
fantastic
breathtaking
these shades of sunrise
shining through
the window of the car
where I sit
a back seat passenger
readin' a book
daydreamin' too
as I admire God's handiwork
famously captured
once before
by the hands of a painter
when Claude Monet
painted "Impression Sunrise"
in the 1870's
over a century ago
Impressionism was born
a new beginning
a revolution for the art world
inspired by the blood red sun
rising on the horizon
much like it looks today
on this Monet morning
Yesterday evening I mentioned to my oldest son, "Today's sunrise looked like a Monet painting."
He replied, "Mom, you're probably the only person who'd ever say that."
I said, "Really? You should have seen the sun glowing bright red over the horizon."
After sharing this snippet of conversation on Facebook, I found out there are more Monet morning people out there. One friend wrote, "Not the only one…just one of the few!" Lucky for me I'm friends with some of those few. Probably why They Get Me when I type comments on their daughter's ballet pictures like, "When I saw your pictures in news feed I couldn't help but think of Degas. So fun to peek into your world of girls." Best of all is when she replies, "I know Janean! Me, too! (Degas) Exactly!" How I love them and am so thankful to have them in my life, even from a distance. For it seems to be A Fact of Life, that People Who Grow Up In The Same Place, scatter to All Corners Of The World as the years go by.
Too bad this happened on a Wednesday, because it could have been fun to play with the alliteration of, "A Monet Monday Morning." It's also too bad the trip to Chicago was to go to my husband's two doctor appointments at the hospital and not The Art Institute, where a few paintings by Claude Monet are on display. Oh well. It'll keep. The Art Institute isn't going anywhere. We are so thankful for these Top Notch Doctors, their training and expertise, their kindness and compassion too, as we continue on course, navigating his cancer treatment. Along the way, I can gaze out the window and soak up the artwork of God above, and drink in the beauty of His sunrise, so thankful for His Son who died for my sins and rose again.
I saw a rainbow in a cloud
http://my.opera.com/jbaird/blog/2011/10/07/i-saw-a-rainbow-in-a-cloud
Oh, What A Sunrise!
http://my.opera.com/jbaird/blog/2011/04/13/oh-what-a-sunrise
© 2011 Janean Baird, Turquoise Tangles
Turquoise Tangles 
Not Monet.Turner.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
der Wandersmann,Thank you for the nudge to refresh my memory on Turner's work. It's been too many years since my four semesters of 8:00 a.m. Art History classes. My memory of the many memorized facts I learned there are fading. This is the painting of Turner's that I saw the resemblance in. Was there another you were thinking of? http://www.j-m-w-turner.co.uk/turner-temeraire.htmThis is the Monet image I had in mind, as I saw the sun rise, on this November morning:http://www.monetpaintings.org/33/impression-sunrise/~ Janean
I'd forgotten that Monet; it looks so Japanese.Yes, the fighting Temeraire … almost the type-specimen of Turner's work.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
der Wandersmann,
This is the Monet that gave Impressionism it's name, as an art movement. Does it look similar enough to my blurry, taken from the back seat of a moving car photographs, that my title and tip o' the hat to Monet can stand, this time around? Turner is spectacular and perhaps I'll see a scene that makes me think of him someday. Though I hope it's on a Tuesday or Thursday so my love of alliteration can continue. Time will tell. Good morning to you. Hope sunrise and/or sunset are a riot of colors that make your heart sing and think of the great painters who painted in the days before cameras from their hearts.
~ Janean
Hell, I live in the Midwest; I'm lucky if I see ANY sun in a week. Land of Gloom, it is, and the endemic ailment is SAD.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
I am familiar with the Midwest. I'm a Central Illinois Girl. We have sun, just not as much as Arizona, Florida and California and some other desert, coastal and warm states in America. Lots of corn and bean fields here and land flat enough to see for miles. It's home to me. Always has been. Last winter we painted our walls in warm colors. That helps more than I knew it would on gray days, for my walls radiate warmth like sunshine. No special SAD light bulbs needed here. Yet. ~ Janean
When I lived in a normal dwelling unit, a lemon yellow was my choice for walls, and a dappled green / yellow ochre / brown for a rug. It made me feel like I was in the woods on a summer day. I live in a place now where I can't paint my place at all … white is the only colour allowed.Being outdoors, even on a cloudy day, is much brighter than being indoors … I first noticed my mood change when I was out all day, coaching on the firing line as the club ran a hunters' sight-in clinic every year, just before deer season. I've been careful to get outdoors every winter since.I know and love the prairies, too:http://my.opera.com/derWandersmann/albums/showpic.dml?album=614680&picture=8437439
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
der Wandersmann,
White walls are the pits. Outside makes everything better for me too. Beautiful handmade artwork! Oh, what a sky! There are some good things to be said for the prairie. ~ Janean
I've always had a feeling for skies, reinforced by working in a weather-research outfit during my College days. A British gal I met online was always effusive about my photos … she lived in the Lake District, and you don't see so much sky, there … I always sent her my sky shots, until she stopped responding, alas!, she had an interesting BDSM fetish. But she was bright, and it was a pleasure to talk with her.
Hope your road trip was nice.I have no idea who Degas is.:) Sorry. I do know Monet, and I see how you feel.However, the second to last picture reminds me more of a Dutch artist I know personally; Willem den Ouden. I can't find much of his work online, so this one example has to do. He is a master of the Dutch skies. If you don't like images in your comments, feel free to edit it into a link…
Thank you, Ben! I've never heard of this man; I'll be looking out for his work henceforth.How's the cleanup going?
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
I don't blame you. He's Dutch, and well known in the Dutch art world; for his very own style of skies. But for some reason I don't think he's every really 'made it' abroad… You'll have to visit Holland to meet him; or find a lot of his work. If/when you do, drop me a line. I'll certainly help you out.Originally posted by derWandersmann:
What clean up? 😀 I was never flooded. And my sisters-in-law's homes are still unreachable.
Good and bad at the same time, eh?It's not surprising that he hasn't made it abroad; he doesn't look very "trendy". Nowadays that's the only way to make it. A real artist, one who just works away in his studio and does things he alone can do is doomed to, at best, an obscure life, although he might make a living.
Originally posted by bentrein:
Personally I think one has "made it" with their art when they are making images that soothe their soul and have a venue for marketing their work in their own community. Yes, stateside it's all about being in a big city gallery, and having representation, but if you're doing what you love, you've already won. And throughout history artists haven't been appreciated until many years after their death. Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Originally posted by bentrein:
Glad you were never flooded. Thanks for taking the time to read more of what I wrote while you were in flooding flood mode there. ~ Janean
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Originally posted by bentrein:
The Road Trip this day was the schedule my husband's second surgery. it did go well and that mission was accomplished. Originally posted by bentrein:
Forgive me while I paused here and am I bit speechless. Really?! Degas' ballerinas painted on canvas and cast in bronze? Not to say there are lots of things I don't know about, artists and their work included. We all do what we can with what we got. Originally posted by bentrein:
Oooooo! Thank you for sharing his work here. WOW! Originally posted by bentrein:
Images are fine in my comments. der Wandersmann posted one of teeth in my comments several months back, that made me grin in spite of myself. I found it with the poem, "shoo shoo little bird".http://my.opera.com/jbaird/blog/2011/07/27/shoo-shoo-little-bird
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Well said. Thank you for this, der Wandersmann. Art is not an easy way to make a living. Most of the artists I know have been saying for awhile now that the art market is stagnant and things aren't selling, unless they are for $1,000,0000.00 to corporations buying them as an investment, and that's not happening in this part of the woods. ~ Janean
And we're going into an election year … my mum always said that people acted in an election year as if the wrong man got in, paintings would be outlawed, and they were waiting to see who won before buying.Quite the opposite of gun buying, now that I think of it … in election years, all the good ol' boys are buying guns like they were going out of style … the funny part is, they're not usually buying efficient defensive weapons; they're buying pricey rifles and pistols, and frequently replicas of antiques. Well, hell, they're lots more fun, anyway.
I hadn't considered that an election year would influence the art market. The amount of disposable, or not so disposable income, does make a difference though. I know a bit about the effect it had on the gun market, as rumors spread about what makes and models will be outlawed next, and collectors of all sorts hurry to invest in certain models before they are no longer legally allowed.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Oh he did… I remember one anecdote about him well. He was trying to sell his (small) paintings early in his career at home. Nobody really cared or was interested and he sold little. Till he went to a gallery, and the owner appreciated his work for what it was; great art. He put some up, and added a 0 to the price. And suddenly his work started selling like hot-cakes. Now, at least in Holland, an original Den Ouden is not for the average student budget!Originally posted by jbaird:
Oh, I only hope you forgive me! I hit Google, and found out I clearly was asleep during my high-school art-history classes… :)Originally posted by jbaird:
It was/is entirely my pleasure to come by.
Yes, it'd all about the zeroes from what I hear, too few and people wonder what's wrong with it and too many and people grumble, "Who would pay, THAT?!" *sigh* I will get a taste of this myself as I am working, working, working on the artwork for a one day show at the back of a little gift shop on Wednesday of this week. I said, "Yes" without thinking…without having the art completed, framed, priced and waiting…because I knew it was an opportunity I didn't want to regret in hindsight. The art making has been fun. Glad you hit Google to become acquainted with Degas. I can close my gaping mouth at your previous statement now. Thanks again, Ben. 🙂
Originally posted by jbaird:
😀 I am very prone to ignorance. I know a little bit about many things, but there's almost nothing I know very much about. If I'd have to list what I'm a specialist in, here's it:Beginning of list.-End of list.In other words, there are many artists I know nothing about. There are many movie stars I know nothing about. And so on and so forth…
Congratulations, Ben! In this day and age, ignorance is endangered. It has become fashionable, however, among American politicians.
Originally posted by bentrein:
My list is similar. Do you know the 80's sitcom Cheers? There is a character, a barfly, named Cliff Clavin. He had something to say about every obscure topic broached in the bar. Making it more remarkable, it is from the days before History Channel and Google.
I don't devote much brain space to movie stars either. All the blah, blah, blah about who is with who and buying and selling and movie making and shopping and vacationing and oh, the list goes on and on ad nauseam. Not to say I NEVER pick up a People magazine when I get my hair cut…I admit it, I do. A little fluff is OK. Too much, makes my brain feel like mush.
There are many artists I know nothing about too. I forget that just because I love art, and know enough to be dangerous in an art conversation, that not everyone is drawn to it the same way I am.
~ Janean
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Politics is one of the things I don't follow too closely. I admit it. I've chosen to concentrate on my piece of the world, caring for my family, and doing what needs to be done at the school my children attend, as a volunteer. I pay a little bit of attention, but I don't follow 24/7 on several networks and websites, even though the information is "out there". So much information. SO MUCH. It's a lot to keep abreast of and it changes as fast as it is written. Selective ignorance on my part. I choose not to follow it. Because it gets my ire up and I'd rather be mellow, if at all possible. If you're In The Industry though, there is no excuse for it. You have "Staff" to keep you up to date with up to the minute reporting. Exhausting, I tell you. Exhausting. In my opinion, of course. ~ Janean