Gouache painting on board by Lilianne Milgrom
Well it’s that time of year again, and I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. Another year bites the dust! Time certainly flies – the image above was painted many moons ago when my kids were really little…! I loved the lost-and-found element created by the snow and their colorful ski outfits.
As I was writing the words ‘Happy New Year’, I began thinking about what constitutes happiness. Having just seen the movie Lincoln, and being very impressed with Abraham Lincoln’s character, his foresight and sacrifice for the Greater Good, I have decided to try to adopt this great man’s definition of happiness as my mantra for the coming year: “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
I have had some recent professional disappointments as well as many positive events, so I will consciously try to focus on the good. Many artists will be able to relate to the abyss which awaits if you only focus on the one negative event rather than all the positive accolades.
If you love art as I do, it is likely that you enjoy reading about art as well; but that does not necessarily mean you enjoy wading through dry, incomprehensible artspeak. I recommend a wonderful treasure of a book I just read – Great Works: 50 Paintings Explored by the late Tom Lubbock. Tom possessed an uncanny way of talking about art in lay terms, weaving in and out of philosophical and pop cultural references. So light a fire, and curl up with your cat for a highly enjoyable read!
My final word for the Holidays is to share an article I recently wrote (anonymously) which should crack a little smile 🙂
http://www.thisblogrules.com/2012/12/elf-on-the-shelf-for-adults.html
Art and Beyond 