A Trip to the Art Institute

 
Of course, we saw all the highlights. 

I've posted other art here on the blog.  Here's some art from a stop in Philadelphia.  And of course, I've posted about the art at Disney.  Here's one shot from the Polynesian. 

But, we also spent quite a bit of time in the kids artist's studio where the kids and I used crayons, markers, colored pencils to make some original art.  Here's my still life featuring a blue flower in a red vase on a small table.  I call it:  Blue flower/red vase.

Back in the aughts, I spent quite some time in my parent's basement working with acrylics and doing some painting.  Mostly on the weekends, while listening to some of my record collection.  It was really a therapeutic experience for me and something I did to express myself.  The medium was always paint and because I didn't have time or money for canvas, I mostly used manilla folders.  Or...frankly...half of manilla folders - where I ripped them down the middle at the crease so I could get two paintings out of each folder.  I was like a painting sweatshop.  I'd churn out five or six paintings in an hour.  Most of them were silly and simple.  But, a few were ones that I could kind of be proud of.  It is funny....I'm not artistic.  Not anywhere close.  But, I'm also not one to show off art that I created, but that's what I'm doing with the image above.  I know it is not the most beautiful or elegant drawing that's been created, but seeing my kids create art and be proud of it, made me look at my own output in a different light.  I've discovered that my feelings about my own lack of belief in the quality/importance of my own art is self-imposed.  My kids make art, then show it to us, and guess what?  They're super proud of it.  Because they don't know any better. 

I have a notebook that I carry around in my work bag and use it from time-to-time on trips for taking meeting notes and what-have-you.  I'm usually only carrying blue or black pens, so doing some drawings beyond sketches is difficult, but maybe I can bring some colored pencils and start to doodle in my free time.