Art Date at the Getty - December 14, 2019 (with rainbows!)

Brian and me, happy to be at the Getty together

Some days you don't do art, you take a day to appreciate art! It's been a couple of months since my hubs and I have been to the Getty down in Santa Monica. It's one of our favorite places to visit because 1) it's free to get in and 2) it has a lot of places for my hubs to play Pokemon Go while I wander around. 

We told the boy he could stay home if he got his room clean last night. Needless to say, he came with us today. Look at how moody he is! So handsome... :)

We drive over some mountains between Bakersfield and LA and this time we actually passed through a cloud! There's been mist & fog other times we've driven here, but this was the first time I really felt INSIDE A CLOUD...

OOoooOOOOOoooOOOO

When we came out of it on the other side, I told my husband that everything we ever see can be a metaphor for life. Sometimes we're in a cloud and there's darkness. Then we come out of the cloud and it's clear and beautiful. Like life.

We used to hang around each other at the museum. Now we have all agreed that we prefer to have alone time to look at and do what we like. The first thing I do EVERY TIME I COME HERE is look at the illuminated manuscript exhibit (only once was it closed - what bad timing). Today was the Balthazar exhibit and it was beautiful and sobering. I'm used to art being explained very blandly, but this time they acknowledged the ways Africa and black Africans were both represented and viewed by the people of their time. The words were sobering. The display was beautiful. I loved this little book in particular. 

Jeanne (Spring), 1881, Édouard Manet, oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum

There is a Manet exhibit happening right now - I've never really cared one way or another about his art, but taking the time to look at his work today just blew my mind! Do you see the square in the painting above? He had them in so many of the paintings! I LOVE SQUARES! I think he was using orthogons... :)

This is his watercolor box. I have a watercolor box. We're twins!

Can you imagine getting a letter with a little painting on it from him? I love the little bumblebee in this one. And I love the look of french writing. 

On the way home we noticed a rainbow in front of us. It was so close! It got bigger and bigger and followed us quite a way like a 

puppy.

The clouds were still hanging out over the mountain and this time they were full of rain. Wow. It's surprising that we didn't get washed away. Brian's a really good driver and I am glad. 

I love California.