It was a bit of an experiment. How about I try a pair of “computer glasses”, only a bit of a further distance so I can wear them when I paint? But after a long day of painting yesterday, I’m sold! I think my painting actually improved. Perhaps because I am more relaxed with a greater field of vision and not craning my neck to look down my nose and see higher up. I love my new “painting glasses”.

A friend made the comment recently that my paintings come across so much more impressive in person. That the detail gets lost on screen. Hmmm. Perhaps my work loses something online. So I have been trying to show more close ups lately. All of this has had me thinking about “vision”, what we see, and the importance of details.

In my grandmother’s living room there was a very, very old painting. It was murky and dark and I loved the patina. It wasn’t until I had started painting full-time and took a closer look, that I discovered there was a woman in the painting! And even more surprising, there is a bearded man under that tree that seems to be waiting for her! She has a red bow on her bonnet and he has on a top hat. Can you see them?

How could this have been around our family for so many years and none of us see that? Well, I have made up my own little story behind it and we have called it “The Rendezvous Tree”. It is oil on panel and I think it’s a plein air painting probably from the early 1800s I would guess. Looking closely is something I think I do well. Not just in what I paint but in people and situations. For some reason, it’s in my wiring. Good or bad. Have you ever been struck by what you didn’t see that was “right beneath your nose” or “staring you straight in the face” the entire time? I love this quote my cousin Jocelyn shared with me:

That sums it up pretty well. I pray I am not so distracted that I would miss something important. I don’t want to miss a thing! How about you?