JANUARY 24 Painting A Day "Inspired"

This little oil sketch painting is inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite painters. The painting I used is by John Millais called "The Bridesmaid" I first heard of them in art history class at California College of Arts and Crafts. I feel in loved with this group of painter's and the Symbolist's. I have been so blessed to see so many of these artists work while my husband was preforming in Europe his harpguitar music. I went to the National Galleries in Paris, London, Brussels, and Vienna.

When I went to Art school in the early 1970's I was so young and innocent. I hardly understood life and was overwhelmed with the times. Berkeley...everything I was was challenged. My religion, morals, eating habits on an on...in shocking and very pushy ways. I was just learning to cook and do my own laundry let alone all the other stuff. I was the most poor I had ever been in my whole life!! Plus I was not a trained artist when I got there. I had only taken a few art classes in high school. Many of the students had been trained on the knee of their parents...going to museum children's classes etc. The students were from cultured families from back east...I was not. ( Oh that I could have gone now...) But I did get some good basics and lots of life drawing classes. Then I started painting abstracts....large ones....to be accepted I think... One day while I was at University of Miami in Coral Gables I studied with the Charmain of the dept. who was friends with the great NY artists of the abstract impressionist era. He gave many of us studio's and I was one of them. I was blissfully painting large paintings and drawing little abstracts...so much fun. He asked some of the big blow hard artists from Yale and NY to come judge our student shows. He had one of these men come to my studio to give me a little critic...after he had a couple beers we went over to my studio...he proceeded to ask me about every artists in the past and present. Did I know them and oh why not and.....you dumb little girl was his implication. Finally he said "you should just go home and have babies!" I was devastated!! Why was I bothering...my house of cards was found out and blown right down......

A dear professor of life drawing and some of the graduate students tried to comfort me...but I didn't really know them.... "OK" I said "what the heck am I doing this junk anyway"....I proceeded to paint a small little romantic painting of a claw foot tube and a stain glass window...then I got a big real window and painted little stain glass designs on it...my true self was coming forward..........my other teacher was shocked! He said "what happened to you... your other work was so strong!" So I stumbled....but now I am found ...and I love what I am starting to do again....

The love of this Symbolic kind of art explains why I am enjoying the mixed media group Artists. Their love of symbol, poetry, and color is like the artists I have mentioned. The prompt from "A Painting a Day" is from a blog challenge. My most beloved friend and inspiration of late as a painter has been Misty Mawn...her work embodies all the artists I love. Please go to her blog by clicking on her name to see her wonderful work...also to see the work of the other painters doing this challenge clicking here.

I am most inspired by Klimt, Modigiani, and Pierre Bonnard please click on all the names of the artists and styles to see beautiful youtube video's with music for a wonderful relaxing cup of tea break!!

PS. I will be selling some of my paintings on Etsy....check my Etsy account in a few days if you are interested.