Friday, February 03, 2012
 
SUNFLOWERS AND VAN GOGH
We all get those e-mails that are usually ones that if we don't read them, we don't miss much. Sometimes I just delete them, sometimes I read them and then say to myself, "why did I even bother."

One day last week I received one that I just had to read. It was about one of my favorite artists, Vincent Van Gogh!
FAMILY TREE OF VINCENT VAN GOGH

His dizzy aunt ------------------------------------ Verti Gogh
The brother who ate prunes------------------------- Gotta Gogh
The brother who worked at a convenience store ----- Stop N Gogh
The grandfather from Yugoslavia ------------------- U Gogh
His magician uncle -------------------------------- Where-diddy Gogh
His Mexican cousin -------------------------------- A Mee Gogh
The Mexican cousin's American half-brother -------- Gring Gogh
The nephew who drove a stage coach ---------------- Wells-far Gogh
The constipated uncle ----------------------------- Can't Gogh
The ballroom dancing aunt ------------------------- Tang Gogh
The bird lover uncle ------------------------------ Flamin Gogh
The fruit-loving cousin --------------------------- Man Gogh
An aunt who taught positive thinking -------------- Way-to-Gogh
A sister who loved disco -------------------------- Go Gogh
And his niece who travels the country in an RV ---- Winnie Bay Gogh

As far back as I can remember I always appreciated his work and found his life story fascinating but never really zeroed in on any particular painting.

That changed one day in July, 1957.

My husband and I were honeymooning on "Old Cape Cod."



The beaches are beautiful, the water on the Cape is warm and the sand could be hot but it was always a pleasant experience.

One Sunday afternoon it was pouring so the beach was out of the question. We decided to put on our rain gear, run through the raindrops and visit the shops on the main street.

Those were the days when the "Blue Laws" were in effect so the only place that was open was a drug store. Okay, beggars can't be choosers so we took shelter in the drug store.

As soon as we walked in I saw a large framed print of Van Gogh's Sunflowers.


Artist Vincent van Gogh
Year 1888
Type Oil on canvas
Dimensions 92.1 cm × 73 cm (36.2 in × 28.7 in)
Location National Gallery, London

No question about it, I was hooked, bought the print and it hung in our living room for many years.

As a matter of fact I have a print hanging on my bedroom wall here in Florida!! When I open my eyes in the morning that's the first thing I see.

No wonder I read that Van Gogh e-mail, it's clever, funny and brought back some wonderful memories.

Who's your favorite artist and what piece of art do you admire most?






Comments:
I also like Van Gogh. I am a fan of the impressionists, like Picasso and even a little Rothko. Oh, I guess I just like art period. Van Gogh was so crazy that these may be true!
 
I enjoy Monet paintings. French impressionism as well as pointilism have been 1 of my favorite sections to visit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I enjoy the Family Tree of Van Gogh. I am linking to my blog.
 
That Sunflowers print brings back a funny memory for me...I had two aunts..one was a homemaking teacher and the other was an art teacher. The art teacher was a painter "of sorts" and painted wild colorful pictures. My homemaking teacher aunt had this same VanGogh Sunflowers print hanging in her breakfast room. I grew up seeing that "painting" and for some reason assumed that my artist aunt had painted it....I guess because the only other paintings hanging were the wildly colorful ones her sister had painted. I didn't care for the other paintings particularly, but I loved the Sunflowers one she had painted. I remember once in school there was a picture of the Sunflowers painting in one of the books and I proudly told everyone my aunt had painted it. Silly story now that I think about it But's it still a pleasant memory from at least fifty years ago.
 
As a former art major, I like lots and lots of artists, but my very favorite is Edward Hopper. I love realism. Also love Dali and Modigliani.
 
Also like Van Gogh and Monet. Nature paintings - I have the book about his life - very big and have not started. Thought with my down time I would begin the reading and just have not felt like reading.
Love you painting...
 
I like thte family tree. Thanks for the laugh.

I've always liked Van Gogh's Sunflowers, and his Irises, too.
 
OMG!! Just love this! Hope it's ok if I share it on my blog! Laughing my head off. Hugz!
 
And in all aspects of my life I once had the urge to draw and paint what I saw with my eyes or carried in my mind but it never resembled the picture I wanted to create. Many ideas for creating have flowed through my mind in the soon 77 years of life but I am destined to only dream not create. Thank you for the smile that came with the family tree.
 
I love this! can I use it in my blog? the van gogh show is at the Philadephia Museum of art now!
 
The Van Gogh family tree is really funny. I wish I had seen this earlier. I teach Visual Arts and I could've shared this to my students to lighten up the discussion.
 
Van Gogh is delightful eye candy. It fills up the need to stare at something pretty, with a story behind it. The art itself tells a story. In the high-tech age, art is a pleasure that we should teach children. Parents should turn kids on to art with books that feature art for kids.
Best Books for Children
 
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