Gripping Art
Looking around my house I started to contemplate the art I have hanging on my walls. Would someone know something more about me, something hidden, based on the artists, styles, colors and stories that I’m attracted to? Do you remember that scene from Good Will Hunting, when Matt Damon’s character dissects and analyzes the “Winslow Homer rip-off” painting in his therapist’s office, as it pertains to hidden truths about his therapist, played by Robin Williams? It’s very powerful. This is one of my top ten films of all time. The whole thing is painfully and psychologically accurate. If you haven’t seen this film I highly recommend it.
Does the art that we surround ourselves with tell a story of who we are? Do you have art in your house that you no longer look at, that no longer moves you or speaks to you? Do you have art because it fills a space, it’s the right color accent or the wall needed something? If money were no object, is there any painting or artist that you’re drawn to? Has a certain style ever evoked feelings of anger or made you ill? Do you have the same taste as your parents? Who or what has influenced your surroundings?
When I was in Las Vegas for my birthday, the painting next to the bed in my hotel room was a Picasso, no, it wasn’t a real Picasso, just a print. As you may, or may not remember from an earlier post, “How Not To Celebrate Your 50th Birthday,” I was terribly sick. For some reason, every time I looked at that painting I felt more sick. It did nothing to soothe me. Though I respect Picasso as an artist, I’m not that attracted to his style.
This was not the exact etching but it’s very close.
Here are some of the “paintings” I currently have hanging in my house. If you assume I love the ocean, congratulations, you’re a genius. haha!
Light House Walk at Biarritz -1906
Boston Museum
This Degas was a gift from my husband and is probably my favorite.
I bought this in a little shop in Long Island, New York. – Joaquin Sorolla
1877 – Winslow Homer “The New Novel”
Edward Potthast – I adore all of his work, though it is way over produced
What is your favorite piece of art that you own? I have to say that my children have created some of my favorite works. Children may be the best artists because they are so uninhibited, creative and free. Some people are not moved by music or literature or art. I always assume that we all love these things but that’s not always the case. Are you this person?
I love that film, Good Will Hunting, and I ALWAYS secretly analyze people on their paintings and home decor! Funnily enough, another blogger was talking about Picasso and we agreed on the same thing; we do not like his work! I was in Barcelona last July and we visited the Picasso museum. I liked his early stuff, but the horrible blue stuff and blocky paintings looked like a child with no drawing skills had splodged paint all over the canvas. In London, my aunt looked at me as if I was an ignoramus when I said that out loud! I love your house paintings. Just to my taste, especially the one your husband gave you. I like all sorts of things as long as its not ‘modern art’.
Well then, Yaz, you and I are twins! I’m drawn to more impressionistic art but I also love black and white photography, and other forms of art, depending on the images and feelings they evoke. I feel the same way you do about modern art and Picasso! HA! I think some people like things because they’re told to like them – they don’t want to feel wrong about their taste, or feel exposed, so they go along with conventional wisdom, what ever is popular. I also believe that to express yourself creatively, whether you’re purchasing art, or making art, you do need healthy self-esteem. Some people won’t put things on their walls or express themselves in this way because they’re afraid to be judged. Wouldn’t you agree? It’s a bit of an emotional risk to say, hey, this is what I like, this represents another part of me. I’m smiling, happy that you and I share these things and have this in common.
It is remarkable how alike our tastes are! Remarkable! Is that a real Degas? I love Degas. I love the Impressionists. I understand the Picasso and Dali were great artists but I detest their work. I like works of art that comfort me. That make me want to walk into the painting and down the street and see what is there.
Great post Lisa. Sorry I have been so absent lately.
xoxox
I just figured you were doing your wedding thang… 🙂 No worries, Mags. Take care of you.
I had a funny feeling that you and I would be similar in this area. Your my kind of gal. We obviously have the same taste. And no, it’s not a real Degas – I wish it was!!! It’s an amazing work of art.
I hope everything is moving forward and coming together. The countdown is on!!!
Lisa
xoxoxox
I love that Good Will Hunting clip. I love when people get mad when you figure out something about them. So funny/sad.
I love all those pieces that we have in the house. I’ve always been a fan of portraits. I like old school Greco-Roman themes where a scene is portrayed. Like The Judgement of Paris and stuff like that. I like haunting paintings, like The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche. I also like crazy detailed landscapes that almost look real. Like the Puget Sound print I got that I showed you. Stuff like that.
I also have a weird appreciation for modern art. Not that I think it’s beautiful or full of raw talent, but that it simply makes you think.
It’s funny that you said that about children’s art because Picasso once said,“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
I like your taste, very much. I love portraits, too. They’d have to be the right ones to hang in the house, though. Some of the museum pieces are so cool but would require a certain kind of back drop, like a castle. LOLOL!! You spend so much time in museums – you’ve got a real handle on art, Lil. I still think you should get your Master’s degree in Art History. Some modern is okay – but it has to be a little warmer for me to like it.
Good Will Hunting is amazing. I love that scene.
Thanks! Your post was so good! It got me all artsy-excited. Museums are so calming aren’t they?
You are an artsy girl – the fact that museums calm you only tells me that this is where you belong. xoxox
If money were no object, I’d surround myself with the work of Monet. Alas, no money, no Monet. HA! Art in my home is mostly photography. Enlarged prints of flowers, and places we’ve visited. I do have one piece of purchased art from an art festival. It’s kind of impressionistic. Plus I have some paintings my son did in school. I figure when I’m old I’ll be like Jessica Tandy’s character in Fried Green Tomatoes who pastes flowers cut out from magazines all over the walls.
I too loved Good Will Hunting, but then again, who didn’t?
Oh, Monet!! Yes!! So beautiful and soothing. I love photography, too — especially when you take photos from vacations and such, enlarge them and put them around your house. They stand as a sweet reminder of that very real time in your life. I think it’s good to mix it up.
Good Will Hunting is such a great movie – I couldn’t help but think of and include that scene.
Fried Green Tomatoes!! haha!
Is there a type of therapy for children that employs art? That’s ringing some bell… By the way, I NEED to see this movie again. Thanks for reminding me about it. I think your taste in art, if I may be so bold, reflects a deep appreciation for beauty – the Impressionists – nothing lovelier. I remember seeing Monet’s Water Lilies in Chicago at the Art Institute as a child and almost yelling in excitement. I may have, come to think of it. Older now, and my taste is… eclectic 😉
Yes, art therapy is wonderful and very effective for all ages. It really helps with risk taking, ego development, etc. When someone refuses to participate in art, it’s usually a big red flag that there are much deeper issues that need to be explored.
Thank you for that lovely compliment, Vickie. I’m eclectic as well. I love black and white photography – I think I spent half of my time in high school in the dark room! (I love the smell of those chemicals!) Art is so subjective – color, story, style, sometimes it seems that some unknown element grabs hold of us… This is probably why I love it so and why I thought of that clip.
How totally cute that you were excited by Monet’s Water Lilies!! So precious — I can just picture you. Children and art just go together naturally. A few years ago they were showing Van Gogh at the Art Institute and I was literally brought to tears. It was as if I could feel the anguish behind the brush strokes. Of course they had the room very dark with single spotlights on the art – maybe it was just very dramatic, but it was very moving. A flood of emotion.
Good Will Hunting is so spot on – I love all the therapy bits. That scene in particular is brilliant.
The other thing I remember about the Art Institute was falling in love with the idea of becoming a nun – at the age of six. The nuns walked through the galleries in their elegant black and white habits, and they stopped to pat my head, and I’m sure they said something about the art, but I just thought they were beautiful (and I wanted a dress like that). When I told my mother of my intention she reminded me that the previous week I had wanted to fly airplanes, but anything I decided was fine.
Van Gogh – controlled and frenetic brush strokes that almost convey vertigo. I can see how that could be very moving. Which painting was it?
Have you ever posted any of your photography?
You and me both! I always loved the way nuns looked in their black and white habits — The starched white headpiece and black tunic. Very crisp. I still wish I could dress like that! If you could see what I was wearing this very minute you’d think I’ve come very close. haha! What a great memory for you. Your mother must have thought that was amusing.
The Van Gogh exhibit was several small rooms filled with his paintings. Maybe that’s why I became emotional? I was totally saturated with his art. It may have been a self portrait or Starry Night that made me so emotional, but I tell you, Vickie, the pain was palpable.
I’ve never posted my photography. Thanks for asking. Right now it’s in storage, but once I move and get organized I surely will.
I love art (thank you Mom!!).. my fav piece is one an artist friend did for me, a portrait of the Mexican artist, Frida Khalo.. I am amassing some new peces which are bright and will hang in my new home in New Orleans.. I also collect alot of Retro B&W photographs..
loved Good Will Hunting!!
Lynne, you have an artist’s soul. I think you see past the surface and feel the actual feelings of the one who created it. You do, right? I sense that in you. A portrait of Frida Khalo – I bet it’s wonderful. She was an interesting artist and woman, wasn’t she? Didn’t they make a movie about her life not too many years ago? B&W photographs are wonderful. There’s so many directions you can go in. It seems like a limiting medium but it’s really not.
New Home in New Orleans… Ooh! How soon is the big move?
Oh I don’t know if I have an artists soul I just love art.. well not all art..lol.. Yes, Frida was a great movie with Selma Hayek..great movie.. Yes, moving time is very soon now.. heading back in April to finalize some things..
Trust me, you do.
The only thing I have hanging up is a Boondock Saints calendar. I guess it’s art?
Why not move somewhere where the ocean is much closer? Even if the ocean you get is the Gulf of Mexico. There was a Yahoo article the other day about the best small towns in America and there was a really nice one I think in Alabama along the beach. Not sure if Alabama is ideal, but they made it look pretty.
Boondock Saints calendar does not qualify. Now go out and get some art! Just kidding.
Find out what town it was in Alabama, I’m curious. Yeah, I love the ocean and probably would be happy even if I lived in a shack on the beach. The southern beaches are sounding pretty great right about now. Are you getting the freezing cold crappy temps in NJ, too?
I tried finding the article for you but I couldn’t. I’ll try again. I think it was only yesterday. And yes. It’s pretty darn cold. My apartment is usually really hot (I have no control over the heat) and I had to close all of my windows last night.
I like modern art a lot too. I do like Monet and my Dad painted some Picasso pics that almost look identical — I think it was the sunflower field and the downtown paintings that Picasso did. I love a lot of color and movement. That last one with the three little girls — I love that one. My Dad painted that and put another little girl in there, playing with the other three. She looked like she belonged there. He did that because he had four girls.
I do paint when the weather gets warmer because I have a space out in my garage. I’ve grown to love oil painting and though I’m not that great at it, I enjoy it and hang it up anyway! I even like Jackson Pollack — maybe it’s the colorful chaos of it.
And Good Will Hunting, we have that movie and it is such a great one. Love your taste in art, Lisa. xo
I guess I forgot that your dad was an artist, too. You’ve mentioned that before… right? That’s a talent that I really wish I had. Picasso did do some things that I liked, stuff that was very different from his more modern pieces. It’s interesting to scroll down on google and look at all the variation. You wonder what was going on in someone’s life when they started using certain colors or techniques. I’m gonna look for the sunflower paintings.
Putting four little girls in that painting would be just right. I think Edward Potthast did every possible combination of ocean/beach paintings. I love them all because he really captures the feeling so well.
Jackson Pollack reminds me of spin art in a way! LOL! Remember that? You’d put the paper on the spinning thing and drip paint on it as it spun around. I loved that thing — I really felt like I had created masterpieces! ha!
Good Will Hunting is Brilliant. Of course everyone has seen it and knows about it – what was I thinking. No explanation needed.
Thanks, Brig. It’s nice to have a real artist contributing!! Always love your comments!! xoxox
There is no one artist/performer whose work I love all of.
And all the art hanging in our house is more because of what the image is, and how that speaks to us, then who the artist is.
That’s probably true for most of us. I don’t think I can claim to love EVERYTHING of one particular artist, although with some, I come very close. It’s all so subjective – no wrong or right. If it makes you feel, then I say it’s successful. I think being attracted to art because of the way the image makes you feel, is all the artist would ever want anyway. I feel the same way about music – if it moves me then I like it no matter who created it.
Monet and Renoir……all the art work in my home was purchased at Chicago’s Art Institute, a fav of mine. However, I love my large Seurat hanging in my office “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of LaGrande Jatte”. Hmmm, wonder what that says about me?
I had one of the best experiences visiting the Art Museum with my kids shortly after they studied Art History in college. Great post!
I love Seurat, as well. Pointillism – if you like this technique, Ingrid, it may mean you have a pointy head? I’m just guessing, here…LOL! Enjoying Seurat may be mandatory if you live in or near Chicago. I almost included that in my post – funny you should mention it. It’s really amazing up close, isn’t it?
The Chicago Art Institute is wonderful. I love spending time there.
Thanks, Ingrid. 🙂
Fellow conehead Jane Curtain is my new BFF….lol
I’m a genius and I knew you loved the ocean before you made this post.
I don’t actually own any art myself, but some of your paintings here are very nice. The two with the ladies dressed in white are good, and I quite like the one of the kids at the beach.
You ever heard of Bob Ross? He makes some fantastic pictures using those massive house-paint brushes… all in about 5 minutes flat! And he has a great voice for the commentary.
LOL! I knew you were a genius. Of course you would include Bob Ross into my post, Michael! He is quite addicting and mesmerizing isn’t he? I mean his hair, not his painting. Seriously, he’s great to watch. I’m glad you like some of my paintings. 🙂
Dear Gripping
Oh yes The Dandy always tries to decipher the personality of a host by the daubs on the walls – second only to having a good snoop at the bookshelves I feel.Though of course darned MP3s have all but obliterated the pleasure of a proper rifle through the records.
In my own home there are quite a lot of vintage posters – strangely for French hat makers and high speed trains and rather to much of my own stuff that gets hung out to dry and only comes down when a friend asks for it.
So that, I guess, would make me a Francophile megalomaniac with head covering fetish – hmmh.
Money no object? The Dandy in me thinks a Gainsborough, full length of a charming acquaintance, or better a Thomas Lawrence, but then there is my modern part which leans towards a vast middle period Bridget Rilley.
Of course if money were really no object one would have a gallery.
What a splendid piece and glorious question!
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
What a rich answer! I love it! Yes, I suppose if money were no object I’d have a gallery as well, or make my house into one. I think if I had big money, I’d be most satisfied with collecting works of art. I’d surround myself with art. I love vintage posters, as well. A Gainsborough would be quite impressive, indeed. I guess if you could purchase one you’d
likely have an impressive estate in which to showcase it.
Bridget Riley and Gainsborough! You might have to keep separate residences – your London Townhouse could house the Bridget Riley and your country estate the Thomas Lawrence, etc.
Now that we’ve gotten that sorted, we can move on with the rest of our day.
Thank you, Dandy.
Gripping
This makes me think of you and the Dandy. A portrait by George Romney of Susannah Lee Acton, look at the character expressed in her face… xox, V
http://imgur.com/IUeMfQz
Thank you, Vickie! She looks quite satisfied, doesn’t she? Funny, I was looking at another George Romney portrait when I wrote this post. We were all on the same page. I love her white dress — the collar is wonderful, it could almost be turned into something couture.
Oh what a fascinating idea! What does your art say about you? Well, I went around my house and looked at all my pictures. All of them have either the ocean, water, groups of women, houses, animals, kids and combinations there of. Every single one of them even though they are all a different style. I had no idea they were all so much alike! HA! And the more I look at my pictures the more I love them.
Oh I just love all your pictures. I’ve never understood Picasso or Vincent Van Gogh. They just aren’t pleasing to look at. It seems like their pictures only tell one story, a story I haven’t been let in on! LOL!! I like pictures that can tell a million stories, depending on the time of day or what kind of mood you are in. I never realized until I read this post how much I love all my pictures!! LOL!!
I was thinking the same thing. We hang these pictures on our walls but how often do we really gaze at them? My pictures are similar in theme to yours. If I could have pictures of the ocean all over my house I would, I especially love stormy seas. Maybe in that instance my life is mirrored in art? Picasso leaves me cold, for the most part. He just is so simple and scribbly. I actually like your drawings 1000 times more than Picasso!!! LOL! He could have taken a lesson from the drawing lady!! LOLOLOL!!
Ahahaha! Picasso taking a lesson from the Drawing Lady! Oh what a wonderful thought, LIsa! LOLOL!! And I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever hear anyone say they liked my art 1000 times better than Picasso! hahaha! I can’t wait to tell my family!! 😀
I once found a newspaper clipping about Picasso inside an old book. In it, Picasso said that he started out drawing regular pictures but people all loved his weird drawings better so he went with that.
Oh I am fascinated by stormy seas. They’re so terrifying and yet I’m strangely drawn to them. I guess it’s because they are mysterious and dangerous! I love looking at the ocean but I don’t think I’d ever want to be out in it. I prefer to just collect shells on the beach and look out onto the ocean. LOL!!
I’m like you – I love staring off into the stormy ocean and find it almost hypnotic, but I’d rather stay on the shore and collect shells! LOL! I think that sums up my philosophy in life – stay on the side lines where it’s safe. haha!
I am chuckling at the idea of someone walking into my house and looking at my walls. Mmm odd and eclectic but comfortable. Lots of homegrown art on my walls with Van Gogh, Picasso and Hopper mixed in. I would love to have a George Tooker hanging on my wall– he is very eerie but captures the every day drugery of life so well in some of his work. Critics describe him as “magical realism” I absolutely love his In the Summerhouse–.
Ok enough babbler. I am not surprised by your love of art and your paintings you shared. You are a classical, elegant old soul with spectacular taste 🙂
Oh stop! Look at you with your love of George Tooker. I think that’s fascinating. Magical realism – sort of like your poems. 🙂 I’ll have to look up the summerhouse. I like the name of it. I bet your home is wonderfully warm and charming on every level. Why? Because YOU LIVE THERE!!!
Thanks for the comps. My elegant old soul wants me to convey to you that like things attract. 🙂
Xoxo
Also, I love Edward Hopper and Van Gogh. I like that one Van Gogh, is it called maybe, “Irises” –the one with the one single white Iris in a field of purple. It makes me sad.
Elizabeth, as a small child, would watch on PBS, “Bob Ross.” Ok, Ok, we would watch it as a family. I’m with Michael C., Bob Ross has a wonderful speaking voice and makes landscape artwork look so easy. But, it is an art to do that kind of art. I totally agree with the thought that what you hang on your wall is a reflection of you. Who you are is what you hang. Such a reflective post.
“Who you are is what you hang” Can I get that in a bumper sticker? Lol! I know exactly what you mean. I think our homes are like a canvas and they really do give off a vibe – light and happy, dark and serious, etc. Lily used to watch Bob Ross too. Okay, so did Neil and I. How can a person pull themselves away, it’s practically magic, right? 🙂
I love that Good Will Hunting scene that you posted — maybe I’ll see the movie now. I’m intrigued. I have my loved one’s creations on my walls, pictures my grandmother painted and my father’s photography. My kitchen, refrigerator, walls, is covered with my five year old nephew’s artwork. I suppose you could tell a lot about me based on that. A fellow blogger named a painting after me that I plan to have framed and put on the wall. Generally I just love art created by people I know.
I think children are the best artists. I framed my kid’s paintings and such, and have it all over the house. They’re just freer and more relaxed about it. I think having pictures of family and things that they’ve created all around you is telling. I think connection and intimacy are important to you – it’s grounding. Maybe it creates security so that you can be a free and solo spirit? I think I’m like you, at least I was prior to the last couple of years when my extended family and now marriage imploded. Haha! Now I just have my friends and my kids. I think that’s why I enjoy doing genealogy. I wonder if you would be interested in finding out about your ancestors…? Unless you already have gone down that road? I think you’d like to see the patterns, the same as me. I know, I’m rambling. Art created by people you know… It doesn’t get much better than that. I think you shared that blogger’s painting…? If it’s the one I’m thinking of it’s very cool.
And DEFINITLY see Good Will Hunting. You won’t regret it. it’s brilliant.
That genealogy thing does interest me more, especially with relation to who I am — I understand the connection as I get older. It might be complicated with the West African roots thing but that makes it even more exciting to me.
Yes I can’t wait to frame that painting! Carrie from Hello Sailor painted it and I did blog about it.
I think you may be surprised. I had my DNA done and I allow people access to it on 23andme – those who share enough to make us cousins. Well, this very nice woman contacted me and said that she and I shared quite a bit of DNA and were likely 3rd or 4th cousins – she happened to be black. How cool is that? We both had a good time with that. I let her dig around because she’s far smarter than I am with all the science stuff. She figured out that one of my European relatives must have stopped by and “refueled” in the Bahamas, where her ancestors resided. Anyway, she’s my distant cousin and I never would have met her and learned about that history if not for 23andme and doing genealogy. Vanessa Williams also found out recently that half of her ancestors came from Europe and the other half from Africa. The DNA can narrow it down to a specific country and region. So there you go, you never know what you’re gonna turn up. It’s very cool.
THAT is fascinating Lisa! Now I definitely want to put this on my to do list. Knowing all of this information about your past must give you new perspective on who you are. The world is smaller and we’re seeing how much we’re connected, which opens up some really interesting possibilities.
Love Degas and you are right about the sea – I am having a cup of tea and looking at my art work and over half involve the sea and/or the shore! Slurp slurp!
The ocean must be very symbolic for those of us attracted to it. Obviously it means we’re deep, and in my case, wide. Haha!
I love art, and art with the ocean in it, too! I’m moved by art, and if I could, I would buy art from artists I know to support them. I love Will Hunting, too. My favorite piece of art in my house is one of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I’m kind of drawn to that place for some reason!
Ooh! I like the sound of that. The Amalfi Coast is quite beautiful. I do think there’s something to be said for connections we make with art. It’s all so individual and emotional on some level. I think the word is, subjective! haha! I love that scene in Good Will Hunting because it was the turning point for Will – he met his match, and it was enough of a challenge for Robin William’s character to get back in the game. They ultimately helped heal each other. Love it, can you tell? ha!
Great post. What a coincidence. I just finished watching Good Will Hunting for the second time and then I clicked on your post. It’s a wonderful movie and that scene is definitely a great one. With one exception we don’t have much art at home although we do have books everywhere. In the living room there is 5 feet square 17th century painting by a Dutch minor master that dominates the wall. The painting is an original but not very valuable because it has been so damaged by botched restorations. We acquired it from a former art restorer because the figures in the painting resemble very closely some of our family members 🙂
Thanks, Malcolm. That’s fascinating! I’d love to see that painting – I’m intrigued. I like that it’s so massive, too. It makes a statement.
Good Will Hunting is definitely one of my favorite films. It’s just so spot on with the character development, it feels real to me. That’s funny that you just finished watching it. 🙂 I also love the soundtrack… great movie.
I don’t have real art over here, but I’ve got a Mucha kalendar, and a drawing of a dancer. That pretty much sayseverything about me :).
I do believe art shows a lot of your personality and stuff, but it’s complicated to know what exactly. That’s a sort of paradox. But I believe it’s just that way…
If there’s a piece of art that gives you an emotional response then that would say something about you. I picture you with paintings, drawings, etc of Dancers and cool photographs of super models. That’s the kind of stuff that attracted me at your age…
The only art in my home is on the refrigerator in the kitchen. Family photos adorn my walls except in my office, there you will find military awards from my husband’s 25 years in the Air Force. Also in my office, free style art on the walls from my 3 and 2 year old grandchildren. LOL. 🙂
That sounds like ‘feel good’ art – very warm, indeed. It’s nice to surround ourselves with family photos – it’s very grounding and helps us to feel connected. I think it speaks well of anyone who has family photos and art and awards. I have an office filled with framed family. I love it.
The only piece of art I own is a canvas print of Ezio and Altair from Assassin’s Creed, I’m not really a big art lover, I mean I’ll go and look at it but I won’t buy anything while there’s cars and DVDs to be had haha 🙂
Well, you have your priorities, right? 🙂