A couple of weeks ago, my husband Tom & I went with some friends to Milwaukee to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum. If you haven’t been to MAM yet, I highly recommend it. It is simply like a sparkling little jewel sitting beside Lake Michigan. The building itself is famous for its brise soleil, or sunscreen, consisting of giant, movable “wings.” Over the years, Tom & I have shared many enjoyable visits there with friends & groups of students.
On this occasion, we were at MAM to see paintings from Kenwood House in London. Most of them were collected by Edward Cecil Guinness (yes, that Guinness), 1st Earl of Iveagh. Undoubtedly the highlight is a self-portrait by Rembrandt in which he’s gazing out at the viewer, having paused in the act of painting. Equally memorable, though, is Frans Hals’ portrait of a friend of his & a bigger-than-life-size portrait by Thomas Gainsborough of a countess in a gorgeous pink & white ensemble.
Visiting museums & special art exhibits is a lifelong habit of mine, & now that I’m making art myself, I find it practically essential for two reasons: It’s my way of “filling the well”,” to borrow Julia Cameron’s phrase from The Artist’s Way, & it sometimes helps me solve problems I may be encountering in a painting of my own.
For me, “filling the well” means taking a break from my usual daily activities to feed my soul. But it is much more than engaging in mind-numbing – or fattening! – activities, & yet, it is much less than a weekend away. In fact, a few hours is usually just about right.
During this particular museum visit, an early Turner painting was very helpful to me vis-a-vis my current project, which has been giving me fits for months. Merely gazing at the Turner seemed to lend me renewed energy at the same time as it reminded me to stop being afraid of getting too dark! His handling of similar subject matter made me eager to get back to my easel & forge ahead. The success of his painting reminded me that I, too, will succeed with mine if I just keep working at it. After all, who knows how long he worked on his? And more importantly, who cares?
And so, this museum visit, this fabulous art exhibit, gave me yet another opportunity to renew my commitment to making art.