Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Uh-oh...gettin' a little artsy-fartsy

So when I decided to give in and jump into this strange 7th dimension of blogging, I felt like I was literally spilling over with subjects to write about! But I restrained myself, thinking, 'I can't just suddenly have a dozen posts, all from the same night, all covering a random array of subjects. I need to wait, space them out.'

But now here I am, thinking I ought to post something, and I can't really think of what I was so eager to say.




So instead, I've decided to do some show and tell.

Today's subject for show and tell?
Art.

Though I've always loved art, all forms of art, my obsessive interest in visual art (ie. painting) is fairly recent.

Now I know most of you, when you hear words like "art" or "painting", you automatically think of this:
Now regardless of whether or not the world's obsession with this particular painting is valid, there's no denying that the skill of Da Vinci pretty much surpasses that of any other artist in the history of the world.

But that's not really the sort of art I'm talking about.

Fear not; I'm not a Jackson Pollock fan:


(Although my Creative Writing teacher made a good point about that in class this week; people say, "My four year old could do that!" and his response to this is, "Probably...but he didn't." In which case, the proper response would be to accept the challenge, go home and allow your kid to dirty up a canvas with nonsensical splatter, and try and sell it for a few million bucks. Hey, it could happen!)

Anyway, so the art that I happen to like, includes artists like:

Audrey Kawasaki



Travis Louie



James Jean



Alex Pardee



Amy Sol



Now, a little while ago, I was sitting on my lap top at the dining room table, and my mom was in the room, and I thought, 'Y'know what? My mother's a smart lady, she's artistic, maybe I should try and share some interests with her, start a conversation.' So I start showing her some of the work of these artists, and a few others. Her reaction, you ask?

"That's nice." (In response to Amy Sol.)
"Eeeuughhhh" (Yah, that's pretty much what it sounded like- in response to most of the others.)


My reaction? Flabbergasted! WHAT?! YOU DISAGREE WITH MY TASTE IN ART? HOW COULD YOU, MOTHER?

To which she says, "I don't know, it's no Monet."



Alright, alright alright. So I get that he's one of the greats, I've seen some of his work in person, blah blah blah, impressionism, water lillies. Got it.

But why exactly does my mother prefer Monet?
Her answer: "It just moves me."



Insert *sigh* here.



Anyway, something you might be wondering (if you're even still reading at this point...I just realized that this is an incredibly long post. I wouldn't blame you if you already left to go make yourself a sandwich. Turkey...Tara rambling about art...Turkey...Tara rambling about art. Can't blame you for your choice. But to those of you still tuning in-)


...back to what I was saying. You might be wondering if my interest in art translates into an actual hobby of, well, making art. The answer is yes and no. Yes, I try. No, I don't really succeed :)

I draw, but don't really paint. My painting supplies generally lie dormant, only to be occasionally dragged out, and then thrusted back into hiding in a fit of frustration when I realize to my unbearable dismay that I'm no Audrey Kawasaki.


However, a half decent drawing of mine:


Whaddya think?
Oh wait, no, no, let me guess-
It's alright, but it's no Monet.

;)

5 comments:

Little GrumpyAngel said...

Thanks a lot, Tara. You made me sound like such a heartless, insensitive, self-absorbed mother! Sheesh! :-)

Actually, the works you are showing here are pretty interesting. You didn't mention the ones you showed me were a lot weirder, did you? Hm.

And you know because I told you that I think you are incredibly artistic. I like your drawing a million times better than I would a Monet. Now start selling some for millions of dollars and let your mother live in a manner she wants to get accustomed to :-)

Lesley said...

Tara your artwork is good, in fact I really liked it because I saw some representation of t'ocean in it and I love t'ocean. I like your writing as well (I didn't stop to go make a sandwich, I was riveted to the very end).

Bea said...

I like to have an understanding of what I am looking at so I lean towards traditional art form. Some of this you posted is very easy to enjoy although I would not necessarily hang it in my home. Your work is very good and worth looking at but much as I love you I probably would not hang it in my home either. Well, you never know, maybe I WILL, it would cause a "stir" and conversation and go along with my "techie" image. GO GRANMA!!!!!!!

Margie said...

You are a talented artist, and a talented writer!! I especially liked the fish eyes. I like being exposed to new art and I especially like to understand what inspired the picture. I'm so glad you are blogging and I look forward to reading your blog.

BobN said...

I don't remember from other accounts if you went to the Tate Modern when you were in London. I hope you did. Lots to like in there.

I actually like the Jackson Pollock sample you posted. Oh well.

I like yours too. Thanks for sharing that.