History, Art and England

Photo of Bath Abbey, England

Happy New Year!

I've just returned from a wonderful two weeks in England with my family. We spent time in London, York, and Bath and had Christmas with my sister-in-law and her family in beautiful North Yorkshire. I wish I had taken a whole year to see the same things, and that I had been able to study and paint each thing as I saw it. Instead, my head and my camera are packed full of images. I'm hoping I can spend time with all this new material back in my studio.

You can't travel very far in England without bumping into a museum or historical treasure of some kind, full of paintings and sculpture and architecture and design beyond your wildest imaginings. It has been such a great encouragement to me to be reminded how, throughout the centuries, people have invested hugely in ART and that we continue to place enormous value on the contributions artists have made throughout time.

As an American, I am really missing out. Without the benefit of a thousand years of history under my nose, it's so easy to forget the part I play in the larger continuum of things. It's easy to forget that what I create in my lifetime can have an impact on others for hundreds of years. My New Year's resolution is to try my best to make art that has meaning, and that lasts. And to remember that I am part of a history much bigger than my little corner in space and time.