During August 2014, in Washington, D.C. I was lucky enough to see the Andrew Wyeth (1918-2009) show at the National Gallery called “Looking Out, Looking In.” It was a show that was so large, it took up multiple galleries, and displayed the collection of his watercolors showing “both the formal and conceptual aspects of looking in and out of windows.” From 1947 over the next sixty years, Wyeth returned to painting windows again and again, and produced over three hundred paintings of that subject alone.
The centerpiece of the show was a Wyeth watercolor called Wind from the Sea. It may be one of the most moving paintings I have ever seen. This painting was inspired from a momentary flutter of frayed curtains lifted by a sea breeze when Wyeth opened a window in an abandoned bedroom. He had gone into that bedroom to do a watercolor study of a dormer window, but because it was such a stifling, hot August day he crossed the room and opened the window. That simple action led to him sketching the window and curtain, which later became the watercolor Wind from the Sea.
This was just one of the amazing art shows I have seen in my life, so many of which have made my heart race and my eyes tear up with gratitude for the beauty before me. These kinds of experiences are there for the taking. We live in an urban environment that is full of art. Take yourself and your children to museums, art galleries, art fairs just for the pure pleasure of enjoying art. One need not be an expert to know what you like or do not like. Ask your children what they see and how they feel about a piece of art. Talk about the history, the clothing of the times, and make art a way to experience not only the world we live in now, but all those worlds that have gone before.
We at KidsArt spend our days sharing art with our students, and teaching them how to create beautiful pieces of art that come from their own hands. What an accomplishment, and what pride they have in their work!
For more information or to schedule a free introductory class, please call us at 661-260-1774, or email us at kidsartvalencia@sbcglobal.net. Give the gift of art for the holidays – gift certificates are available.