For the Love of Art


I decided to accept this writing prompt and my love letter (well, poem really) will be to Frederick Leighton's "Flaming June," oil, c. 1895.


Liquid gold
Drips off every curve
Every delicate fold
Rest your heavy head
My tired nymph
Or are you a naiad?
Classicism is safe here
Sleep sweet dreams dear
And in the depths of rest
Have no fear
The Oleander suggests death
But there is only life here

They don't take you seriously
Perhaps they have yet to see
There is more to you than the promotion of travel
Or the vain strive for deep meaning
Or delicate detail

You are real 
But just a dream
You are more
And yet remain 
as simple as what is seen
And in your simplicity
Lies the making of complexity
The brink of thought
Just out of reach
Trying to grasp some
Scheme or theme
That lies just past the mind
As if a recollection
Of a fleeting dream






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RAWK Holiday Art Show

Image
Do you live in Houston? Do you enjoy looking at beautiful artwork, having a fun date night with your honey bun, meeting new people, having fun and supporting the hopes and dreams of this artist right here? Than come to the RAWK Holiday show, featuring yours truly! Tickets are only $15, and you're in no way obligated to buy anything. You can just come and have a blast if you want! I'm thrilled that I was scouted through my Etsy shop and made a featured artist in this show. It's such a fantastic opportunity as an artist, and an awesome belated birthday gift for me. So if you're able to come, I'd be thrilled to see your smiling face there on December 11 at Stereo Live in Houston. You're support means so much to me, even simply buying a ticket if you're not able to come would help me out a ton. To buy tickets go here:  http://www.rawartists.org/lizrector Thank you to all my friends and family who have encouraged my artistic development through the year...
Read more

Things You May Need to Hear

Image
There is a good chance that you need to hear at least one of these things at this moment or throughout the new year: 1. Stop looking at your anger or anxiety as a wall you keep running into. Instead, look closely at the bricks that make up the wall. Attack the wall one brick at a time and watch the wall disappear. 2. Fear is an illusion. When anxiety strikes, you have to lean into it to get out of it. 3. You are where you need to be. Even if you feel stuck, even if you hate it, even if you don't understand it - stop trying to escape, and start asking yourself what you can learn from this. 4. People who don't have a clear sense of their own identity latch on to others. They turn their insecurity into gossip, their anxiety into manipulation, their inferiority complex into sabotage. Remember that you are a separate organism and that you can choose to either let their toxins in, or keep them out. Don't take on others' baggage before unpacking your own. If you ca...
Read more

Analysis of Gerrit Dou's "Dentist by Candlelight" by Liz Rector '09

Image
The piece I have chosen to analyze is Gerrit Dou’s Dentist by Candlelight. A Dutch painter from the 1600’s, Dou began this piece that explores everyday life in 1660 and completed it in 1665. Painted with oil on oak panel (14x10 in.), the piece, which is mostly bathed in blacks and grays, has an eerie lure to it. Entrapped on the oak is a man with his mouth agape, sitting in a wooden chair, wearing a distinct look of anticipating agony. The man looks to the ceiling, where his eyes are met with an alligator hanging from the ceiling; the alligator’s mouth agape as well, with its underbelly aglow. The dentist holds a single candle to the man’s face with one hand, and with the other holds back the patient’s forehead. A concerned wife stands before the man, holding his hand, which is securely fastened to the arm of the chair. The viewer anticipates action, as the scene seems ready to unfold at any moment. The three people in this situation form a sort of circle through their lit facades and ...
Read more