Art Lesson

I'm not a big "art" person.  What I mean is, when I see a painting or a piece of art, I see it for what it is - I am very literal and I have a hard time determining what the artist was thinking and what they wanted the viewer to feel while looking at it - you know all those questions they ask you in college art appreciation class.  It is just hard for me. 

Well, the other day I took my daughter to a new restaruant that we had never been to before.  It was a place with very colorful decorations and from the moment we got out of the car, she was pointing out various things.  There were birds hanging outside made from tires, so we stopped and felt them and looked at the colors on their wings.  Inside there were colorful tiles on the floor and pretty lights hanging over each table and a colorful string of fish on the ceiling - she was pointing out all of these things and getting so excited about each and every thing.  I couldn't help but begin to stop and notice what was around us. 

On the walls there were paintings ladies hanging - all very different, some of the ladies were old, some young, some were outisde, some just portraits, etc.  So, I began to ask Lilly what she thought about each one - What was the lady looking at in that one?  What was she thinking in this one?  Did that lady look nice or mean?  We did this for each of the paintings around us.

We both had a great time and not because of the food or the service (not that those were bad), but because she caused me to stop and look around and enjoy the art around us.  So, to my little girl, I say, Thank you for the art lesson. :)