stella_marie

ive always loved monet. i love his water-lillies. one of the most peaceful moments in my life was sitting on a bench in the basement of the Orangerie Museum in Paris surrounded by his gardens.



when i lived in philly, i wasnt far from the art museum and used to spend lots of time there. they have several of his paintings, but the one that always stuck out was the japanese bridge.

it was painted a few years before he died. towards the end of his life, monet had terrible cataracts in both his eyes. he kept painting the gardens, but they were hardly the same.



i would look up close and there was no image, it was just huge, thick, smears of paint. it was actually quite sad that such an amazing painter was reduced to a mucky mess.

then i would take a step back.

and another.

one more.

there.



now look. suddenly, i saw the bridge. and theres the water. the pads are there too. it was always there - i was just too close to the painting to make any of it out.

ive been a mess lately. i think i could use a few steps back - get a new perspective.