This past Friday my sister and I spent some time at a First Friday Art Walk. Our area is blessed with an abundance of very talented and creative individuals in any and all the mediums you can think of. We have painters of every kind, sculptors, musicians, dancers, builders, technical wizards, and more. On the first Friday of every month, our downtown becomes an open invitation to tour galleries, museums, restaurants and outdoor events that celebrate the creative spirit.
I have to admit that much of what I saw this week kind of went over my head if you get my meaning. I don't claim to understand what is referred to as "modern art," nor do I think myself educated enough to criticize anyone's work. I just know what I like. If I find a sculpture made entirely out of stay pins or other strange objects, I don't decide to like it or not like it - I just accept it for what it means to the person that created it and move on.
The things that captivated me that night, and always captivates me when it comes to art, were the landscape paintings. There on the walls and stands were canvasses of mountains, trees, gardens, vast fields and even someones personal take on Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry, Starry Night." All of it was beautiful and in each one I could feel that the artist had touched on what Mother Nature had in mind when she whipped out her paint set and went to work on the earth.
I don't care how talented a person is, from a Van Gogh to a Monet and everything in-between, no one yet has come close to what Mother Nature can do with her paint set. Have you ever really looked at a cardinal in all it's red glory? Have you ever seen a field of wild flowers in bloom and just felt your heart melt? Have you really looked at the intricate art work on a peacocks tail feathers and wondered how in the heck it came out so perfect and symmetrical? No human being could have come up with anything close.
So the next time you go to an art gallery, or see some artwork on display somewhere, whether you agree with it's message or not, just remember that the artist is trying their very best to express something within them that is bursting to get out. And remember that even though no one can match Mother Nature, there's no harm in trying. We can certainly use all the beauty we can get.
And so it is.
