Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Johannes Vermeer

Merriam-Webster defines art as something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. It also states works created by artists; paintings, sculptures, etc., that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings.

As it states on the Merriam-Webster page this definition is the simple definition, the full definition is far more complicated and hard to sum up in just one thought or sentence. The full definition includes words like conscious use of skill, creative imagination, and decorative or illustrative elements.  The word itself can pertain to more than just the works of art hanging in a museum or the walls of your home. Art may pertain to the the quality or state of being artful, a branch of learning and so forth.  For this particular post I am focused on the simple definition of art. The product produced by an artist’s hard work, undeniable skill and talent, and unique imagination.

I myself have always been a huge art lover. From a very young age I loved to visit museums, flip through art books and make my own unique art or replicate art that spoke to me.  I remember one such occasion when in Junior High I made an attempt to recreate Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1889). That was not any easy task to accomplish.  It took me days to get it just right, or at least to my liking. I have to admit I remember being quite impressed with myself and the end product.

Sunflowers (1889) is just one of the many pieces of art that has moved me over the years.  I think every year I am taken by a new artist I may discover for the first time or rediscover all over again. My thought is that what stage in life you are in or what you are experiencing in your personal and professional life will impact what you are moved by.  Certain works of art may move you now, but your feelings towards it may change later.  Or something you may not have cared for before may intrigue you now.  It all depends on where you are mentally at that very moment.

Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Johannes Vermeer is another piece of art I am madly in love with.  I became fascinated with this particular painting when I heard of the release of a new movie (at the time) of the same title.  I had yet to see the trailer of the movie, but I new it was something right up my alley.  There was great talk about the painting and suddenly I was swept away by the portrait of this young woman. Her eyes said so much, yet so little. It is still one of my favorite paintings to this day.

This beautiful painting has inspired me to create a color palette. It has such deep and lush shades of blue and brown perfect for a fall wedding or sophisticated enough for a room makeover, for example, a library, living room or dining room redo.