Inspiration & Aspirations
Pam and I like taking long drives together. We always find ways to make it interesting and fun. We take detours from major highways to check out interesting places and to look at scenery. Our own version of car pool karaoke is one of our favorite distractions.
We just arrived back home from our annual plein air workshop in Naples Florida. We visited friends and family on our drive south and back north. On these long adventures, inspiration is found everywhere, by the things we see and the friends we share time with. We had some wonderful conversations about the making of art, the collecting of art and all things art-related. We discussed art with friends and family in Amston Connecticut, Monkton Martyland, Abingdon Virginia, Cartersville Georgia, Ellenton Florida, Naples Florida, Vero Beach Florida, St Augustine Florida, Pine Mountain Georgia, Bolivia North Carolina, Richmond Virginia, Annapolis Maryland and Peekskill New York. We also got to visit galleries and museums and view the personal art collections of friends.
One of our stops was in Cartersville Georgia. We had wanted to see the exhibit East/West Visions: Scott Christensen & Quang Ho, and at first we didn't realize this museum was on our way south. (The Booth Museum features Western art and we both thought it was somewhere in the mid west.) The exhibit ended the day after we saw it and so we both count our blessings in having had the opportunity to see this body of work by two contemporary masters. We were both deeply touched by this exhibit. As we looked at the paintings, along with others in attendance that day, there was a shared feeling of deep respect and awe that permeated the room.The paintings, most of which were large scale, were intoxicating to the senses. In every painting, the mastery and versatility was clearly evident. Some of Quang Ho's work filled me with tears.This is an artist who is capable of painting so deeply from the heart, that the viewer feels the emotion behind every brushstroke. This was a show that changed me somehow. I can't explain just how it changed me, at least not yet, but I know I'm a better person for having seen it.
There was no catalog made for this unique exhibit, so I can't offer up a way to buy one online, but I can say that if you ever have a chance to see the work by either of these gifted painters in person, you should make every effort to do so. I've seen work by these artists online before, but like most paintings viewed as a small image, it doesn't do the work justice.
The time spent traveling has opened up numerous possibilities for future workshops and gallery representation, and has us both aspiring to be the best landscape painters and workshop instructors that we can be. We are looking forward to our 2019 workshops and making new paintings for the coming season..