There are places that one finds in life that somehow have a centering, calming, and joyous effect on the soul. The memory of my Grandparents' buttered toast and pipe-scented house in California, the balcony in Boudha where I taught my dear After School Artists during the monsoons, the breakfast table with Pedro— I have a lot of these happy places. One of them happens to be the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, where I never tire of wandering through the galleries, though I have been there several times. Familiar brush strokes, colour palettes I know too well, and creamy marble that feels like home. It's like visiting a beautiful house full of old friends, who never seem to age though I do.
This holiday, I spent five hours at the museum one day— just me and Sargent, Monet, Manet, Turner. I went to Ancient Egypt, to Medieval and Renaissance Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and beyond. With the new sketchbook that my Grandma sent me for Christmas in hand, I sketched a few of my favourite pieces. Most of all, I just looked.
5 comments:
I can lose time in a museum.Especially an uncrowded one!Years ago, I often spent my lunch hour in the National Gallery with Rembrandt.
Hurray for your grandma who sent you that inspirational sketchbook. It's wonderful to see your sketches here with your soft colors and shading and dreamlike images. Even your trademark clouds have reappeared! Happy new year.
I did not want to to leave the Uffizi... or the Bargello...
Your drawings are joyous!!!
How lovely. Thank you for sharing some of your happy places.
Thank you ladies!
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