Every trip to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art draws me relentlessly to the third floor because of the paintings by famous artists. While Cezanne is my favorite and they don't have one of his--closest is in the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth--I still have some favorites.
There are two Thomas Morans there. Every time I'm there, I have to just sit down on the bench in the middle of the room and drink them in, for the emotions they arouse, for the memories and stories and craft I see in them.
The first is one of his typical scenes of Venice, and the colors are entrancing.
The second is more stunning to me, because it is in black and white, named "Lava flows." Imagine such a painter deciding to paint lava in such a way. To me this is stunning.
In the next room is a portrait by Robert Henri, author of "The Art Sprit" that I always keep nearby at home and read for inspiration.
Then there's Ernest Blumenstein's "New Mexico," that so captures the spirit of my favorite place--from the landscapes to adobe, to the skies, to agriculture, to the religous processions and the Native American. This paint is raw in every way, fitting the Land of Enchantment.
These are the spirits that move me.
Nice, its been a few years since we've been, I sense a road trip coming up.
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