Finding Beauty

A while back, we had a discussion on this blog about hanging art on colored or non-white walls. I said I have a great love of doing that and have found in some cases it really shows off paintings nicely.

I have been painting my foyer and one of the walls is a very dark gray...kind of a paynes gray, if you will. The other walls are very light. So I hung this painting which you have seen before against this dark wall for you to see the result. My feeling is a white wall would wash this particular piece out, but the dark wall seems to really make it pop. I will show you more of this foyer project once it is complete and maybe you can see the edge as it sits against this wall, too.
In the book, "Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision" by Ian Roberts, the first chapter is about 'Searching for Beauty'. This chapter begins with these quotes:

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. - Emerson

By God, when you see your beauty you'll be the idol of yourself. - Rumi

I told beauty, take me in your arms of silence. - Aragon

Beneath our loquacious chatter, there is a silent language of our whole being which yearns for art and the beauty from which art comes. - Rollo May

So in your search for beauty, have you found it? Do you find yourself looking for it at every turn? Do you know how you define beauty? Is it important to you?

For me, simple things often define the beauty I find. It often involves something difficult for others to see as beautiful, such as hanging art on a dark or colored wall or the way fresh vegetables are displayed. I am always looking for beauty and always refining what it's meaning is for me. And that meaning is often based on something positive in some way. I can also say beauty is very important in my life.

I hope you are having a beautiful day!