Hello Everyone! Let’s continue our chat about the inspirations that go into writing. Last time it was about some special songs that really moved the ‘ol Muse to get writing. This time let’s talk about a very obvious theme from The Mark of the Artist: Art!

Full disclosure: I cannot draw. Oh, I make some little doodles here and there in my notebooks, but my 8- and 6-year-old kids draw more life-like pictures than I do. And I happen to be married to a guy who can draw, and I have several relatives who paint and can draw, too. So, I guess the art gene skipped me.

But I am an art fan. Our home has artwork on all our walls: paintings, prints, drawings, and even a special area for the kiddos’ masterpieces.

So, let’s take a look at some art that left it’s…mark (see what I did there?).

JMW Turner

A few years back my husband and I went to an exhibit at the San Francisco de Young museum where some of Turner’s paintings were on display. His way of creating action and textures, light and depth, were mesmerizing. I’d been a fan of Turner’s work before this, which was why my dear husband took me, and now to see these paintings in person gave me a feeling that I can only describe as magical. Though not there, one of my favorites is Alnwick Castle. The moonlight floods over a castle and water, leaving a mystical haze over the whole scene. Talk about magical! Some other wonderful paintings of Turner’s are A Beech Wood with Gypsies round a Campfire, Interior of a Romanesque Church, and Rain, Steam and Speed. Oh, and in case you’re wondering what he looked like, there’s also his Self Portrait.

M.C. Escher

Anyone remember that picture of the water canals that flow up and down? Or the one of the two hands drawing each other? Or this? M.C. Escher. How mind blowing/trippy are his works? (Hint, one in particular may come to mind while reading The Mark of the Artist, keep that in mind for later in the book).  

Classics and not-so-classic

Then there are the classics and famous pieces so many of us know: The Mona Lisa (her smile, you get it), The School of Athens, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, and Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, just to name a few.

In 2009, I was lucky enough to visit Florence, Italy while a dear friend was studying there. Among the adventures, my friend and I got to see The Birth of Venus and La Primavera at the Uffizi Gallery. There’s a reason these are so well known. So beautiful, so amazing, and real masterpieces. (We also saw the statue of David, and were in Venice at Carnivale, but I digress).

Then there are those pieces that are not famous in the slightest, but still have affected me. When I was a kid my grandmother, Marie, had a painting in her living room above her piano. It was in one of those frames that had a dark blue velvet border (oh yeah). It was of crashing waves on a sandy and rocky beach. Seagulls, white foam. This was the image in my mind when I described Sebastian’s first painting in the book. Even as a kid I remember running through the fancy living room (looking for candy in her crystal dish) and stopping to look at those waves. Even then I thought how real they seemed, and I could hear the mighty roar of waves crashing in my imagination, before I dashed off with a peppermint.

Needless to say, art in all its forms have held sway over me. And even though I can’t make a stick figure, and my doodles are “cute” at best, hopefully writing about the power of art, the magic it brings to our lives, will be enough.