One of my favorite artists is Norman Rockwell. Every single one of Norman’s paintings speaks to me. But first, some background information!
Norman Rockwell was born in New York City in February of 1894. During the First World War, he tried enlisting in the U.S. Navy, but was refused because he was eight pounds underweight. To make up the difference, he spent one night eating donuts and bananas, and tried again the next day. Norman was given the job of Military Artist. During this time he was discovered by the Saturday Evening Post (he went onto complete 321 covers for them!) During World War Two, he painted The Four Freedoms.
His connection to the military is not why I want to write about him here. His paintings tend to be idealistic and sentimental, which I feel is a great way to view the world. You can almost feel what the characters are feeling, from joy and love to fear and hatred. So many of his paintings explain how I am feeling, without using a single word. Like music and poems, paintings are another way to express yourself.
My goal for this series is to pick a single Norman Rockwell painting every week (or hell, whenever I want!), one that explains how I am thinking and feeling. For now, here's Norman's Triple Self-Portrait. Look closely, can you tell who he's drawing inspiration from? I also love that he's painting himself differently than the way he looks, something that most people do when they look in the mirror themselves!
No comments:
Post a Comment