FAF 249

Dear ones,
The longer we hang around planet earth, the more we enjoy what is ephemeral, seasonal or momentary: the opposite of a tomato grown in a greenhouse and trucked off somewhere to become tasteless refrigerated pulp wearing a thin red dress.

That momentary flower (what's it called?) that people write poetry about in early spring

Speaking of ephemeral, we developed an appreciation for this word, and its meaning, when we were sixteen years old (aspiring to become a French poet) writing a research paper about Claude Monet (1840-1926).  Any time a person finds a passion, an obsession, a career - there a few important entry points, and for The Art Ranger, Monet's paintings provided one such doorway.

Impression Sunrise, 1872 from which the art movement got its name

One of the many haystack paintings       times of day    seasons    moods  

Clearly, we are in favor of discovering "art" in the world, not necessarily fabricating it in a formal studio.  That (art) is, in part, about perception itself.  And from Monet, we learned that light was a worthy thing to study, in fact, you could spend a lifetime doing just that.  We think this contributes to our enjoyment of the same tree over and over and over and over; it can can be so very nourishing:

Thank you dog god for taking us on walks ... and birds who live there

 how things are framed

Monet's haystacks in winter

Thanks to newly portable tubes of paint after 1840, art making could be more liberated from the constraints of the indoor "studio", or the awkward pig bladder container.  Can you tell we are not an art historian?

Have you ever tried to paint water?

Also, it made such an impression that this art left some work for you the viewer to do, to put this image all together in your own brain:

Plus - the beret    The hipsters thinkin a drinkin a pour over?

And if ever your eyesight or your legs or some body part fails, we should still make our art as Monet and Matisse did producing some of their finest work in the later years.

yah - we don't know what that glowing thing is   - hmmmmmm

And speaking of "ephemeral" we are most humbled when whatever we were trying to capture is already gone before there was a chance.   More soon, more later.  And you?