Monday, October 27, 2008

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!

12 comments:

~Babs said...

Hi Kim,
The painting does pop on that dark wall, indeed!

I often find beauty in unexpected places.
Not long ago I saw a rare outdoor clothesline. All white sheets and towels were hanging. A tree was nearby & the sun was shining,,,beautiful shadows from the tree,,,and wonderful colors reflecting in those whites.The sky was a most bold aqua.
I think it's a feeling, as well as a visual. To me, it was beautiful!

Katiejane said...

I do see beauty all around me. I look for it. I decided a long time ago to try to find something beautiful each and every day. I often have my camera with me, but often I just appreciate it by myself; the way the sky looks at just that moment, or a bird flying low. If we don't stop to smell the roses, what good is life?

I like your painting on the dark wall. I like color in houses.

Andrea and Kim said...

Hi Babs!

I love seeing lovely white linens on a clothes line, too! And you are right how beautiful it is to see the reflection in those lovely white sheets and towels. I can understand that beauty!

Thanks Babs! You know how I love those colored walls...and I have to hang these paintings somewhere.

Andrea and Kim said...

Hi Kate, I love color in houses, too. I lived in far too many for far too long where I painted for resale. It is enough to drive a crazy person sane! :) So I decided with this house it was going to have some serious color. It is taking me a while to get these walls taken care of, but slowly I am doing just that.

And you are so right about seeing beauty every day...it is absolutely there to be sure! It is just like "expecting a miracle", right Babs? :)

Thanks So Much, Kate!

marianne said...

Beautiful post Kim!
And a very beautiful painting!
Beauty is important to me. Why, because when i see beauty it makes me feel happy.
I keep my eyes open for it. In nature beauty is easy to find in almost everything ; nature is perfect and generous in it's beautiful things.
But in my life i see beauty in a lot of things. I love it to mix paint on a plate seeing the colors evolve makes me happy. There is beauty in each color.
I have the same feeling when I look at Lesley's beads . I love colored glass !
And when I visit my blog friends There is always surprise treat waiting for me somewhere as today when you share your art and beautiful thoughts with us.
Thanks!

marianne

sukipoet said...

Fabulous. I really like this painting on the grey. I'm so glad you now have a house in which you can paint the colors you love and display your wonderful paintings. Hurrah.

I am happier when I think about life and things in terms of beauty. I can find beauty in many things others would consider an eyesore. Such as abandoned and falling down buildings.

Beauty can also be found in small gestures, kind words, a lovely table setting. A delicious home cooked meal. a blizzard can be both beautiful and dreaded and dangerous. So many things contain both within them, the beauty and the decay or what might be labeled not so beauteous. Though if you view the decay as beauty too, then there you are.

Beauty can have grit to it. Like the pearl that comes from the grit in the oyster. From the mulch pile grows the flower.

thanks Kim. Speaking of Lesley, I just ordered a heart necklace for Mom for Xmas.

Andrea and Kim said...

Thank you, Marianne!

You are so right about the beauty of visiting art blogs. How very true about finding beautify in so many places and how the key is to be aware of it!

And beauty is a tremendous source of happiness. Here is a question for you, too, do you think there are people who do not know how to see beauty?

Wonderful words to consider, Marianne! You give us so much to think about here.

Andrea and Kim said...

Thanks Suki! I am glad to be painting colors, too. I guess it does not mean I will not be "neutralizing" everything in the years to come, but for now we can enjoy these colors.

And I completely agree with you about finding beauty in things which normally are not considered beautiful such as in decay of buildings, etc. I wonder if it is also the beauty of what could have been or what might be we think about, as well.

And beauty does come in the form of kindnesses - both given and received - and sharing. The simplest things do bring so much beauty and artists often capture that simple beauty. I think of people who have created incredible art from a single lemon. And look at the beautiful headers on your blog ... some good examples of simple beauty lie there to be sure.

And beauty can have grit...I had not thought of it that way, but you are so right! How about beauty from pain? I think of childbirth.

Suki, you have a way of making this sound like poetry!

Thank you so much for your beautiful insights!

Anonymous said...

I tend to look for beauty in um...oddities? Things others might not find beautiful. Like the patterns in a bug's eyes, jumbles of vines, a pile of rocks.

Andrea and Kim said...

Now that sounds like beauty to me, Chewy. It really does!
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'm new to your blog but will stop by again as I too believe we must take the time to stop and look at beauty which is everywhere, all of the time, we just don't notice it as we are so busy getting on with life. In my blog I talk about being alone within ones self, that is when we can really get tuned in to the spirit and what is around us.

Andrea and Kim said...

Hello Carolann,

Welcome to my blog and I am eager to explore you blog, too. At the moment I am very busy with lots which is going on personally, however I promise to visit you very soon.

The old saying of 'beauty being in the eyes of the beholder' is very true, however beauty comes to each person in many different forms, I think. You are right, it is a tremendous gift we must not take for granted.

And being alone really does tune us into the spirit and that is pure beauty to be sure. I am really eager to visit you!

Thank You So Much, Carolann.