Reminiscing under a starry night!

Today is a special day... An absolutely fantastic way of thanking the true creators of lives, our lives…

OUR  PRECIOUS  MOMS…

My mom… She's incredible… She is an artist, she doesn't know it but she is easily one of the best I have known. She can paint anything out of nothing. Since a baby I have watched her draw and paint million things around, for me. And she's beautiful… She was the one who inspired me to paint and draw and do the things I do. She made me who I am. One day she'll know that I have always been her biggest fan. For me she's the best artist.

 

But most of us knew today was mother's day already ya… What with all the gifts and flowers and cards in every retail shops reminding us to buy their products for this very day… I am quite sure you have all done something special for your moms in one way or another to remind them how important they are to us.

However, today is also a special day for most art lovers… A great man was born this day. A genius impressionist who worked magic with sombre colours… Man who has inspired me in many ways, whose life touched my heart, and his paintings touched my soul… Ladies and gentlemen, today is Vincent Willem Van Gogh's 161st birthday! And hence, I would like to talk a little something about one of my mom's favourite artists of all time:

Self-portrait of Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh's life is one sad story. He rose prominently to fame posthumously and died a very pitiful death, but he left us precious treasures of his lifetime… He was born in a family of artists. A lot of his family members were all expert in this field. Van Gogh himself also aspired to be a great world-renowned painter. Little did he know his wish was to come true, even if after death. And till his dying time, he continued drawing. His life was rather short and tragic, filled with ill healths, dementia and frustration. He passed aways when he was only 37... But his journey as an artist was even shorter, he only started seriously painting from his late 20s. Still he lived a lifetime in that short span and did extraordinary things that I am still yet to do… A tale of its own! Be it his slicing off of his own ears to creating masterpieces. We would forever miss him and be intrigued by him. But let's not mourn on this special day about the sad things that happened in his life, and remember the gifts he left behind for everyone to cherish… Let's take a tour through the memory lane of his great art works:

His most celebrated work - The potato eaters:

His depiction of pheasants eating potatoes... It is one of the best re-creations of a working man's life.

His love for Sunflowers:

There are several accounts of his paintings of sunflowers… And also replicas of those paintings itself. He even made series of two different variations of sunflowers: Paris sunflowers and Arles Sunflowers which are also popularly known as the Vases of Sunflowers. He also did replicas of the second versions.

In words of the genius himself (Van Gogh about his painting of sunflowers in his letter to his brother Theo): "It is a kind of painting that rather changes in character, and takes on a richness the longer you look at it. Besides, you know, Gauguin likes them extraordinarily. He said to me among other things - 'That...it's...the flower.' You know that the peony is Jeannin's, the hollyhock belongs to Quost, but the sunflower is somewhat my own."

No. 1                                                 No. 2                                              No.3

The three paintings of vase of fifteen sunflowers (no. 1 and 3) and twelve flowers (no. 2) that you see above were all done by Van Gogh himself.

And Irises...

Called "the lighting conductor for my illness" by Van Gogh himself, this painting was made in the asylum right before his first attack… This was added by his brother Theo at the Annual exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in Paris during 1889. This painting style was influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e block-wood prints, with cartoonish outlines, unusual angles and flat colours. Magnificent!

And Almond blossoms...

Who can forget his awe-inspiring almond blossom paintings? The serene painting of white florets on a calm turquoise background. It is as beautiful as it is simple. Just almond flowers blooming merrily, nothing else…

The lone times under the night sky:

This painting is a major inspiration in my life. I feel like I have drifted into another dimension of swirly colours at the dead of the night with the moon and the stars shinning down bright on me… Not just that, every time I see it I feel calm, I feel at peace and then that follows with a desire to do something big, to be someone great. This painting makes me want to be better! Just like my mom… Quirky ya? But I'm only being honest… How and why I would never know and will never be able to explain… But I could stare at this painting for hours on end without ever getting tired… The more I stare the more it seems to move and flow in my mind… This video here captures my thoughts perfectly….

Here are his other paintings depicting landscapes under the night sky...

The famous "Starry night Over the Rhone"

Painted at the bank of the Rhone river, this was one of Van Gogh's paintings of Arles at night. This was one of the two paintings exhibited at the Annual exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in Paris during 1889.

Wheat-field landscapes:

He also painted dozens of wheat fields. As we have already established, Van Gogh LOVED nature! Good man… 

Not only was he inspired by nature, he connected with it and preferred watching and painting rather than abstracts… I can totally relate bro!

These depictions of wheat fields were not only his strong connections with the nature but he also felt a close associations with the peasants toiling in the sun, sowing and reaping the grains, symbolising the sower and the wheat sheaf with "eternity" and reaper with his scythe with "death".

He brought still-lives to life:

Everything he observed and painted made them look like they had a purpose much deeper than what meets the eyes… As if there is a story, an adventure behind these pictures bursting to come out to those who seek, it just needs the right key… Like for example, the shoes, have they just been taken off or are they ready to be worn? Sitting in a queue as if for its command… The bottles that contained something one would never know… The lime… Well, they are just lime, kind of half ripening may be… Okay help me out with this one :p lol!

He also took a lot of selfies… lol :p He made a lot of self portraits.

You can find ALL his amazing (recorded) works listed here. 

Well, if I had but just one big wish in life that could true (out of many :p), it would be to meet him for just one day and watch him work as he painted his heart out on a canvas… That would be truly glorious!!!

Well, it's fun to dream :) 


With that note, 

Have a happy (mother's) day :)

With Loaaaaads of Love, 

cJB v