Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving

So I am sitting in the Corner Bakery of Union Station. There is so much buzz here. It makes me think of how much I really love the holidays. People going to and fro in order to spend a few moments with the ones that they love. Suitcases packed with unnecessary clothing; pajamas are the most comfortable. Small children skipping while being dragged by their caretakers so they dont miss the train. Umbrellas shaking off bad weather DC rains. Necks being zipped up in facetious coat zippers. Scarves flying away to heavens. Old ladies congregating next to families of two and three, waiting for the Washington Tours bus. And every now and again in the midst of the hustle and bustle you find someone stopped, turning a hot chocolate or coffee to their lips, someone lost and looking for the baggage claim, a mouth enjoying a sandwich and a child reading the pictures of a book in the Barnes and Noble. But thats not it. As people leave and get into there cars and cabs, I am reminded that this is the first Thanksgiving I wont spend with my family. My new family is awaiting my arrival and counting the stove minutes until the turkey is ready. And I am glad. Glad to know that as we come and go, to and fro to our destinations someone is always watching for us to come home. And the beauty of things dies outside with the change of the leaves, the beauty of our life shrinks to the inside of a home, a hug, a fireplace; somewhere warm and familiar.


Saturday, November 12, 2011

One Hundred Years of Solitude



"He dug so deeply into her sentiments that in search of interest he found love, because by trying to make her love him he ended up falling in love with her. Petra Cotes, for her part, loved him more and more as she felt his love increasing, and that was how in the ripeness of autumn she began to believe once more in the youthful superstition that poverty was the servitude of love. Both looked back then on the wild revelry, the gaudy wealth, and the unbridled fornication as an annoyance and they lamented that it had cost them so much of their lives to find the paradise of shared solitude. Madly in love after so many years of sterile complicity, they enjoyed the miracle of living each other as much at the table as in bed, and they grew to be so happy that even when they were two worn-out people they kept on blooming like little children and playing together like dogs."


Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Dear Claude

  Once again, I am sitting in front of my computer on a late night. I'm inspired to paint but sadly have no money for brushes, seeing as I am a college student and all. But none the less, Claude Monet popped into my head. The other day I showcased African born artist Peju Alatise, and today I just felt like a good Monet. 

  Ever since I can remember, I have been drawn to the works of Claude Monet. Believe it or not my middle name is Monet, so I do attribute many of my artistic blessings to him. Besides all of that, truth be told, I was in a funky mood today. I really was feeling burn of betrayal and I wasn't to sure how to deal with what I was feeling and I began to sink. 

  So as I was looking for my happy place, these paintings flashed through my mind, just flittering images of color and softness and somehow I still felt an overwhelming sadness. It never ceases to amaze me how life can continue to go on around us, when we are hurting. It's as if you have a wound that wont bleed, so people never really know its there. Ive heard that saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul..." and I'm sure if someone really "looked" at me and "saw" me, they could experience, if just for a moment, the pain of that wound. The eyes of Claude Monet saw beauty and he put it on a canvas. He painted his pain away and made it something beautiful for us to see. Thats what I want for myself and you...a moment where pain is no longer pain but a beautiful moment in our individual worlds, where time doesn't stop and you can "see" yourself and the beauty of your pains.
-monet

Claude Monet-Self Portrait

Water Lilies

Palazzo da Mula-Venice 1908

The Path

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Peju Alatise

The other day I was surfing the web and came across this absolutely beautiful piece of artwork. I wasn't sure who it was by so I did some fishing around and I found the name Peju Alatise. Being an artist myself I was absolutely blown away by the talent of this young woman. There was something about her work that spoke to my inner artist, and woman.Her works seem to capture the essence of one's raw emotion. And the color and technique are just ones to be in awe of.
-monet

"Peju Alatise, born 1975 is a mixed-medium artist and a writer with educational background in architecture. She has practiced as a studio artist for thirteen years alongside renovating buildings and publishing 2 fiction novels. Peju in the past has done a lot of artwork on women as subject matter, capturing the joys and pains of womanhood as experienced here in modern-life-African traditions with consequences. Her subject matter has evolved with her continued experiences moving her focus from advocating the equal rights of women to politics and philosophical inclination. Peju resides in her home country Nigeria."

"As an artist, I have learned to become a medium for a viewer to observe through to attain a different perspective. Just as a pair spectacles would either alter or enhance the wearer's vision, I lend myself to an onlooker to see a subject matter through my own eyes to observe differently."


This is excerpt about Peju comes directly from her website http://www.pejualatise.com/about/. I do not take credit for any of the details and I felt that only she could explain herself best. Please look at some of her other works. Im sure you will fall in love with them like I did and perhaps even find your own inner artist. 







Monday, November 7, 2011

Black and White Day 2





























Again, I do not claim to have taken of these pictures. They have been collected from multiple sources. Thanks. Enjoy, my second day of favorite black and whites!
-monet

The Other Day

They other day I posted some black and white photos. And I know many people love the vividness of color photography but its something about the shades of black coming together to me that seems so artistic, eloquent... nostalgic. I wish that I had a better camera so I could take some myself. I'd love to do a series of them with my mom. Her face is so beautiful. Any ways, I have more black and whites for today. Enjoy.
-monet

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Black and White Day

These are photos that I had on my tumblr I do not take credit for any of them. These are some of my favorite black and white photos. This is not all of them but I think I will post a few a day for the next few days. Enjoy.



























-monet