Most of us look but don't see.(Kevin Hughes) Author's Note: These are my memories. They were triggered by a Painting I saw today in an article. I love Museums, and have been lucky enough to visit many of them. But I had to be taught to learn to appreciate both Art, and the Artist. So here are some of the lessons I learned.

I am not an Artist. Let alone an Artiste. I took a thirty day drawing course, and by the end of thirty days, and doing every exercise, I could barely draw anything. I could draw something that could be mistaken for either a cow…or a rock. So, like many other Talents that I don’t have, I stand in awe of those who do.

Today I read about a painting : Rene Magritte's paintng L'empire des lumières (1954) that sold for $121 million!

Here it is: empire of light.jpeg And that triggered several memories.

My favorite Art Work is the “Venus de Milo” . I got to see it in the Louvre Museum in Paris. I went there a dozen times or so, and every time I would head to that statue first. I would spend a good half hour just looking at it from every angle. I swear it is as close to being alive as marble can get without a soul.

For me, spending thirty minutes staring at anything, is an eternity. I can’t even sit still for that long. People who really appreciate Art, can stare at a painting for hours, almost as if they were in a trance. And true connoisseurs of Art, can cry, laugh, or even sing when they feel a piece of Art reaching into their soul to pull out some emotion or another.

One time I befriended another Entertainer on the Ship I was on. It turns out his Degrees were in Art Appreciation, and Art History. He also won several Awards for his own Art Work. There was a famous painting he wanted to see in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. He asked if I wanted to go along with him.

“Sure.”

We headed to the right place to see that Painting (The Hermitage is huge!). A Russian Security Guard was kind enough to tell him exactly where it was. And when my friend told him he had waited his whole life to have a chance to see the Painting…the Security Guard actually escorted us to the picture.

When we got to the picture, my friend just stood in shock. Tears fell from his eyes, and he devoured that painting with his eyes. At first, me and the Security Guard, had to hold him upright , or his knees would have buckled. But he soon regained his balance. The Security Guard went back to work. My friend just moved closer to the painting, examining it from top to bottom.

He explained to me what the different brush strokes meant, how the paint was applied, and even how the pigments were made. We were in front of that painting for a good hour and half.

All the way back on the bus, he sat with his eyes closed, a huge smile plastered on his face. Later that night we met for dinner and he told me he had called his Mother... and cried recounting his experience seeing that painting.

That was the most intimate, powerful, reaction to a piece of Art I ever personally witnessed. I had a small sampling of that kind of emotion when I first saw the Venus De Milo, but wasn’t in the same category as his raw emotional response. Mine was more of a : “Oh, my. That is beautiful.”

I learned a lot that day. Art moves people. Every bit as powerful as a good music to tug at your heart, a memory, or life.

Another time, I met one of the best “pen and ink” Artists alive. She could draw simple lines on a piece of paper and make it come alive. She explained to me about the choice of ink, the kinds of paper that were best for particular inks, and what kinds of light you could use for ink drawings. It was amazing to me.

So one night a bunch of us were gathered around a table up at the evening buffet. There were eight Performers and the Pen and Ink Artist Lady. I asked her how you could tell if someone had Art Talent, and what separated someone who could do Art, versus someone who could draw well.

So she gave us all a sheet of paper and a pencil. Then she put a coffee mug she got from another table and put it in the middle of our big table. Everyone could see it sitting there in the middle of the round table. Then she told us to draw it as best we could.

So we all started drawing. She broke out laughing. We were stunned. I mean we just started drawing. We all laughed too, because her laughter was heartfelt and not obnoxious.
I asked her why she laughed.

“Kevin, there aren’t any Artists here. Well, not any that can paint or draw anyway. “

We were all puzzled. I mean we had only started drawing for a few seconds after she said to start drawing.

"How do you know that so quickly?”

“Because all of you started drawing right away. None of you actually looked at the cup. You weren’t drawing what you were looking at. You all just thought you knew what a “cup” looked like, so you started drawing without even more than a quick glance at the cup.”

She had us all continue to draw (and we all looked at the cup a bit more.) She drew the cup too. Except she finished long after we were all done. Then we looked at her drawing of the cup, and then at the collection of drawings we had made. It wasn’t even close.

She pointed out the little chip on one side of the handle, another light smear of lipstick on the rim of the cup. She showed us the different layers of coffee stains in side the cup, and a small dribble down one side of it. Most of us had missed those tiny details.

She then told us that most folks don’t really look at things. Especially things they think they know…like a cup. An Artist, painting that cup might look at it for several minutes before setting pen to paper, or brush to canvas.

I never forgot that lesson. I don’t use it for Art. I use it for relationships. Because sometimes we think we know the folks we love, but never really look at them. We end up taking them for granted. But if you look close enough at the folks you love, you see them as they really are…and like an Artist, you appreciate their beauty more.

When I saw that painting that sold for $121 Million Dollars- I actually looked at it the way she taught me. And it is titled correctly, for it is the eerie use of light that makes it so stunning. Especially when you consider when it was painted. You really have to understand how light bounces of objects, nature, and hits your eye, to get the light to look like it does in that painting.

The third memory triggered by that article about the painting was one with my Sister in Law…who is also an Artist. In North Carolina, up in the mountains, one of the Vanderbilts built a Mansion. For a century it was the largest private home in the United States. It is called the Biltmore Estate. You can Google it, there are many YouTube videos and Documentaries about it online.

It is, in a word; magnificent. It has treasures from all over the World. With paintings, tapestries, friezes, sculptures, Chinese Vases from different Dynasty’s, Greek, Roman Ancient pottery, you name it. The building itself is an architectural marvel, and Art in its own right. There are even Formal Gardens to rival any in Europe, and the famous Landscape Artist: Fredrick Law Olmsted (Yes, the same guy who designed Central Park in NYC) designed the grounds of the Mansion.

I took many friends and relatives to see the Biltmore. It is different in every Season- with Christmas being the most lavish indoor display of what it was like when the Vanderbilt’s lived there. I never took it for granted, but raced through the tour like most folks.

But then I went with my brother and his wife, the Artist. She pointed out so many things in the first room, that it took almost a half an hour just to get to the main hallway! I just thought they were pretty vases. I had no idea that they came from the Ming Dynasty, and were almost priceless. Knock one over, and your wages are gone for life.

I just thought they were pretty. But she made me take a look at them, much like the Pen and Ink, lady on the ship did with that cup.

She saw the Friezes from the Parthenon in Greece which were plaster casts of the originals. She pointed out not only the Art but the History behind tapestries, paintings, and even the books in the Library!

Going through that Mansion with someone with an Artist’s eyes and knowledge is a much different experience than hustling through trying to see as much as possible with my untrained eye. I thanked her when we sat in the old Stables eating ice cream.

Many more memories are rushing through my mind right now. So I feel safe in providing some hard earned advice. If you go to one of the many Museums around the world, don’t try to see everything. Pick out a few things and spend some time enjoying them. Act like an Artist and really …look.

As one of my friends used to say: “Act like you are going to come back again. Take your time.”

Yes. It is better to see just one or two impressive works of Art, than to have a whirlwind of scattered snapshots of bunches of stuff you never really looked at.

And, if you like a painting, a drawing, or a sculpture, and it makes you feel something …then it was Art…so appreciate it.

I guess that is why they call those Courses: Art Appreciation. The more you learn the more you will appreciate both the Art, and the Artist. Even if it didn’t cost $121 Million dollars!

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