When I finished the above painting, decided on the title, “Because of Brandywine,” and wrote the artist’s statement for our art group’s show, I was reminded of a favorite children’s book in my collection, Because. Written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Amber Ren, the story describes a chain of artistic inspiration that begins with the great composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. The book opens, “Because Ludwig wrote beautiful music – a man named Franz (Shubert) was inspired to write his own.” Then continues: because people wanted to hear Franz’s music, they formed an orchestra; and because a man had practiced and practiced his violin, he was asked to join. On it goes as more musicians were chosen for the orchestra, copies of the musical score were printed for the orchestra members, tickets were sold for the performance, and ushers opened the doors of the grand concert hall for the show. Then, because one of the concert goers had caught a cold and was unable to attend, a little girl was asked by her aunt if she would like to go to the show instead of her sick uncle. The little girl sat in the grand concert hall and, because Franz’s music, played by the orchestra, was so beautiful, she was changed. “From that moment on, the girl learned everything she could about music – because it fed her. Soon she started to write her own music – because, like Franz, the young woman had something to share.” With time, as well as hard work and a little luck, she was invited to conduct her own music in the very same grand concert hall. People came to hear her composition, which she titled, “The Cold,” a tribute to her uncle, who was sitting in the audience that night. And because of her beautiful music, “someone else was changed. That is how it happens.”
Delightful, right? And true!
“That is how it happens” is the last line of the book, the end and yet, more importantly, also the beginning. The book describes a creative cycle whereby one artist inspires the next: to see, to listen, to be changed, to dream, to practice, to feed themselves with their art, to write, to perform, and to share their work with the world, thereby encouraging someone else who is watching or listening. It’s a magical circle of art leading to inspiration leading to practice leading to new art. Ever since the very first cave painting, art has been evolving, one inspired artist after another.
My own “Because” story reads something like this:
Because Monet, a gardener, painted beautiful flowers at an easel outside his home in Giverny, France – a woman named Mary Page Evans was inspired to paint her own landscapes …
Because she traveled to Giverny to learn to paint en plein air in Monet’s gardens and studied the Impressionists, she too became an accomplished artist, returning to her home in Virginia to create her own vibrantly colorful, loose floral masterpieces …
Because her landscapes wonderfully represent the mid-Atlantic states, her painting, “Peonies in June” (2013), was selected for display in the Brandywine Art Museum outside Philadelphia …
Because an art group friend asked me to accompany her on a bus trip to that museum and there was a seat available, I saw Mary Page Evans’ painting and was struck by its style. I was changed …
Because learning art history and exploring ideas in paint feeds me, I tried to paint my own landscape, practicing with layer upon layer of acrylic paint, collage papers, and charcoal line work until finally, I stepped back from the canvas and smiled …
Because our art group had an upcoming exhibit and I had something to share, I displayed my painting in the show …
Who knows, maybe someone will see my painting and be changed, inspired to pick up their own brush to paint. Because …
That is how it happens.
When our oldest son TJ was in early elementary school, he drew a picture of a lighthouse and wrote that it reminded him of me, because I show him the way.
Shining a light, that’s what we all hope to do for each other. By sharing what we know and love and make, we just might show someone else the way (and maybe ourselves too?) Marianne Williamson said it beautifully, “As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” Because … in the divine circle of inspiration … that is how it happens.
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