Best Weekend Ever

Oh, what a weekend.

My brain cells aren't used to that much activity.  I think I have a blister on one.

Handsome Husband and I took some time to skip out of town and spend a few days expanding our horizons.

First off was a visit to Bodies,The Exhibition. If you haven't heard, it's an exhibition of cadavers that have been preserved and dissected, then displayed for our viewing...er... pleasure.  It's thought provoking to say the least.  Not the sort of think you like, exactly, we're still mulling it over. I kept tripping over the idea that this body I was looking at, all opened up, standing there like it was frozen in time, was once a thinking, laughing, joke-telling, dreaming, human being. Having it preserved right before my eyes, unmoving and staring, was a bit jarring.  Yet fascinating. HH and I have a renewed appreciation for the complex activities going on right under our noses...literally.

Next was my opportunity to cash in on my Mother's Day gift.  HH made plans for me to spend some time with artist Hal Haloun. Our conversation was wide ranging, challenging and a true delight - for me, at least. I have tons to learn about painting.  And seeing. Huge thanks to Hal for his patience and kindness.

And as if the weekend could possibly get any better, HH and I spent a fantastic couple of hours at the Joslyn Art Museum enjoying the Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism Exhibit on loan from the Brooklyn Museum.  I have no words to describe this exhibit.  Honestly, I cried.  Right there in front of Edward Potthast's Rocks and Sea.  And then again in front of, well, most of the rest of them.  I still have a bruise on my chin from dropping my jaw in front of John Singer Sargent's Dolce Far Niente. No photograph could capture the richness of this painting. Really.  I checked.  And to my eyes, even more beautiful was A Stream Over Rocks. Nearly chipped a tooth over that one.  It took all I had not to leave nose prints on the surface of the painting in an effort to understand just how the paint was applied. 
Truly, it's worth the trip to see these paintings.

I know, some of you travel the great USofA, some of you go across the pond for your thrills, or fling yourselves down mountains at breakneck speed.  I spent a weekend with the best guy ever, looking at some of the most intriguing artwork ever, visiting with an artist whose work I admire immensely.  Honey, nothing tops that.

Completed earlier this week-

@2010 Plein Air Field P. Scarborough 8x10 oil