I’m not much of a fan of selfies. Perhaps it’s because I can’t take a good one to save my life or because I’m just too darn critical of myself. These are my version of the selfie or portrait. My albums are filled with them, not because they have me in them, but because they show me engaged in an activity that I think represents me and what I love. Well, maybe I do like the fact that I am in them just a little because this is a rareity for any designated family or group photographer. And, they are all from behind, so I can’t be too critical of them.

I have been sharing these personal posts, not to boast or show off, but to share a bit about myself on a site that shows my work. Also, it is a lesson in vulnerability for a woman who has learned to clam up, pull my head into my shell and self-isolate because of past rejection and hurt. In other words, this does me good whether or not anyone ever even reads these posts.

All of these pictures were taken at galleries I have visited in the last couple of years. If I pulled out every old album we have I could probably find even more from all my museum visits in high school and from my art history days in college visiting museums all over England and in Europe. In reality, I could probably find pics from every year of my life standing in front of the works of all kinds of artists. I grew up going to galleries on every family vacation. I have passed on that family tradition to my own kids and shared it with my husband.

My immediate family, because of my husband, is off the charts appreciative of all types of music or maybe “obsessed with music” is better wording. Both are sufficient descriptions. I have been known to call my husband a “
music snob” along with another friend when I just didn’t know the answers to their music trivia questioning because their knowledge of trivia is bottomless and my knowledge is minimal in comparison. My kids share his love for all types of music. I’ve tried to pass on my love and appreciation for all types of art, as well. These pics represent the same thing to me as listening to music. Music is art for the ears. The same emotion, struggle, pain, joy, hope, love, and forgiveness that a songwriter writes and sings about is expressed in paint by painters and sculpters and photographers. Song writers use music notes and words. Painters use brushes and paint. I believe songs and poems and paintings all deserve the same respect and attention. They all have things to say and we can listen or look or contemplate out of respect. Sometimes we may not like what we hear or what we see because the subject is hard or ugly or messy or difficult on the eyes or ears. Should we just turn away because we dont like it? I hope we don’t. I hope we care more about the person that took the time to create the art to not dismiss it. That is ignoring and rejecting the “art” of individuals if we do.

These pictures represent me looking and observing and “listening” to what each artist has to “say”. This is not unlike anyone turning on a stereo or putting on headphones to listen to classical, jazz, rap or pop or any other genre he or she prefers. We choose to listen to music that moves us with some emotion. Art can do the same when we take the time to observe a piece. Sometimes the response is immediate. Sometimes it takes a few minutes before we feel anything at all. So many great poems, pieces of literature, symphonies, masterpieces, and classic novels began when one ordinary person got an idea and had the courage to follow through and see it to completion. The process long ago is still the same today. I hope you will take the time to observe the art of all types out there because who knows if what you like today just might be considered a masterpiece in one hundred years. Doing this doesn’t mean each person willl love all that he/she sees or hears or that everyone will all love the same things. Not all songs deserve to be on our playlists and not all art pieces deserve a place in our homes, but they all have things to say and as an artist myself, I just ask you to look, to listen and to observe out of respect. I think it is important because they just might be “saying” what we are waiting to hear. And, it is a good lesson in observing the art of human artists, so we will know how to observe and respect the art of God himself revealed in nature with all of it’s glory.

This is me in front of my own piece at my first art show a few years back.