Besides the Art Tour, I took Sam to a pumpkin patch, attended a baby shower, had two nice dinners with good friends, drank lots of wine and beer, and got my hair done.  That doesn’t really sound like a lot, but it felt like a lot.  And now I’ve been sitting here for a half hour trying to find some clever way to wrap up this boring post, but all I can think about is that pumpkin pie I promised Sam we would make together.

Bye!

But the best thing about art.com is that you can learn a lot about art there.  They have their prints categorized by era (pre 12th Century to 20th Century), by movement (Cubism, Art Nouveau, Impressionism, etc.), by nationality, and by subject (animals, scenic, dance, etc.).  And, because within each category there are dozens and dozens of famous works, you can scan through them and get a feel for that movement or century or whatever you’re interested in.  Yes, you’re just seeing a tiny image which could never capture the subtleties of the actual work of art, and this is no substitute for going to museums and seeing the masterpieces for yourself, or even for taking a course or reading a good art history book.  But this is the best overview of the world of painting that I’ve ever experienced.

I skimmed through a few dozen paintings in each movement from the 17th century to the present day.  I now know why Vermeer is considered such a genius, after seeing his work next to many others from his time.  I saw the difference between Impressionism (nice) and Post-Impressionism (horrifying).  I confirmed my suspicion that, although I can appreciate the skills of the Hudson River School, landscapes bore me to tears.  Not surprisingly, most of the modern movements are a total fraud and just plain ugly.  But now I know a bit more about them.  And I found a few new artists that I love – hurray!

I learned more in 3 hours on art.com than I’ve learned in any one place before.  However, if I had no knowledge at all going in, I don’t think I could have learned very much.  I already had some ideas of what I liked and what many of the actual pieces looked like.  Art.com just helped me with categorization and filling in a lot of gaps.  (The multiple ways to filter makes shopping for prints an amazing experience as well.)  If you’re like me and enjoy art, but are a relative novice, it might be worth a few hours of your time.  Let me know if you enjoy it!

Our Home Remodel Is Finished from Michelle Mitchell at Scribbit on Vimeo.

What a great way to expand the existing rooms and bring in tons of natural light.  At first I didn’t like the way the addition looked from the outside, but once I saw the function of it on the inside, I grew to like the view from outside as well.  And aren’t those light fixtures the best? 

I’m also impressed with the way this family uses their space.  The house is not very large, and there are four kids living there!  Michelle also blogs, bakes, and does tons of crafts from that house.  I hope to be so organized some day.