My Exposure to the Arts

Before I entered high school, around the time I was in junior high, I remember my mother taking me to theater productions at National Theater in Washington, DC.

The plays that I remember seeing were: My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, and West Side Story. There might have been others, but I do not recall.

In addition to these plays, my mother took me to Art Openings at various art galleries in Washington, DC none of which I recall but I do recall some of the paintings that I saw.  It ranged from the works of the Masters like Renoir, Monet, and Chagall to modern artists whose names I do not recall.

One painting that was selling for $20,000 was a framed canvas about 3 feet by 5 feet that was solid green with a red circle in the upper left-hand corner.  I thought the painting had been done by a child at first.

As a result of my mother, I developed a love for the Arts and not just the theater or painting but of all the arts which included:  theater, outdoor dramas, oils, acrylics, watercolors, sculpture, pottery, weaving, and printmaking just to name a few.

At one time I thought I wanted to pursue the arts but every time I tried to paint or draw, I could not get my hands to mimic what my mind or eyes were seeing.

After high school, I started writing poetry and that lead to short stories then to opinion articles, and finally to novels.  I have no desire to publish any of my writings, although I have a blog on which I post my poems, but I don't really care if anyone reads them or not.

Writing like art is just something I enjoy whether I am doing it or someone else.  It passes the time and gives me pleasure.

It has never been clear to me why my mother selected me for her adventures into the art world and not my sister...  but it is what it is and I am thankful that she selected me.

I still like the arts but have not been to a play or an art gallery in years.  The last art gallery I went to was The Louvre in Paris, France.  I could have spent a whole week's vacation in there, but we only stayed a couple of hours.

My wife does not share my love of the arts although she likes to decorate our homes with a variety of art as long as they complement her color scheme.  Her choices are great but none of them would make it into a museum of art...  lol