Today our class took a trip to the Amon G Carter Museum. My favorite paintings are landscapes. It is awing to me how artists can capture scenes of nature so clearly. Nature is filled with details that are easy to miss if you are not examining it closely.
In my last blog post, I noted how slowing down on my walk allowed me to see many details of my walking route that I had previously missed. Looking at the landscapes today gave me a similar feeling of wanting to slow down so that I did not do the same to them.
Each leaf on the trees and shadow in the clouds were so clearly detailed. Some of them I wanted to stand as close as possible because they almost had the illusion of a photograph. A painting that stood out to me was Sunrise at Yosemite Valley. There was an excerpt next to it where the artist stated that when he visited, he felt he was in the Garden of Eden. His painting of the valley felt like I had been transported there myself. The yellow hue coming from the sun was hitting a cliffside and radiating towards me.
Abbey in Desert Solitaire transports its readers to the Arches Monument, and this painting did the same to me with Yosemite. Reading Abbey's description of the nature around him has made me yearn to be where he is so I can experience it myself. Similarly, the painting was calling me to stand where the artist stood. However, the Garden of Eden is a symbol of purity and harmony with nature. A part of me wants to keep the Sunrise at Yosemite Valley at bay so it can remain just as it is.
Thanks for this blog post. I am glad that you liked seeing the landscape paintings. Sunrise Over Yosemite valley is one of my favorites too. These paintings come close to representing the divine and the sublime, at least to me. They seem to also remind us that we humans are only a small part of nature.
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