May Time Yay Time

 Today is the last day of May and we haven't done a Photos of Years Past!  So, guess what this post is?!

We started off the month by celebrating Ethan's graduation!  Doesn't he look handsome in his doctoral robes?

The moving in was starting to pick up a notch, starting with plants and books, of course!  We had to get a couple new bookshelves just to accommodate.

Birthday weekend arrived, starting with a Cardinals game that was way too hot so we only stayed about four innings.  I think they won though.

And for my birthday Ethan surprised me by organizing a friend reunion!  We had so much fun and even a year later, I still can't believe he made it all come together for me.

At the end of the month, the two of us went to Florida as my graduation present!  We built sandcastles, went for lots of beach walks, and just enjoyed the sound of the waves.

And in a couple days, we'll be back on the beach with the whole family!

(photos by e.hunt)

"The Final Degree of Abstraction and Imagination Allied to the Real"

 The weekend before, we went to another St. Louis cultural favorite, the Art Museum!  Andrew and Juliana were in town so after our Saturday morning Kaldi's tradition, we packed up the caravan and headed towards Forest Park.

We were all very excited to see the Monet/Mitchell: Painting the French Landscape exhibition.  We were greeted with a dapper Monet welcoming us to his Giverny gardens, with these two rich pieces as an introduction.  The jewel-tone blues and greens draw you right in.

Next was this rather odd piece, featuring water lilies and African lilies, the orb-shaped ones jutting up from the side.  The stems, and light-colored section they grow up from are quite intriguing.

Joan Mitchell, an American Abstract Expressionist, also spent time painting a garden subject matter in France.  Her bright and bold colors, and big expressive strokes pair nicely with Monet.

The right-most panel with it's heavy black and layered lower section was my favorite.

And then we arrived at the piece of the day.

The scratchiness, the cloudiness, the fluffy dreaminess!  I have never seen a Monet quite like either of these.

We were all enamored.  Lastly was this almost unfinished-looking piece, with much of the canvas left bare.  Even cataracts and ever worsening sight couldn't stop Monet from painting; he just changed the style a bit.  The quick strokes and many colors add so much movement, almost like the pond was filled with a rainbow of little fish darting about.

Over two hours, and twenty-four pieces later, we moved along to the next activity, but it was quite exciting seeing so much unknown-to-me Monet in one spot.  And it's always fun going with people to discuss and compare thoughts.  The exhibit will be at the museum until June 25, if any of you are interested.

(photos by e.hunt)

I'm Feeling Very Botanic Today

 Part of the birthday weekend activities featured one of my local favorites, the Botanical Garden!  We waited until Monday for two reasons: less of a crowd and less of a sunny heat wave.  

The Chihuly glass exhibit is going on right now, which was a nice little bonus.  My favorites were the purple spikes and the whimsical, Alice-in-Botanical-land curly-q's.

The reflecting river of flames was pretty cool too, though.

Our little walkthrough even inspired my Mother's Day card creation!

(photos by e.hunt)

Birthday Days

 This is 33.

Well actually, this is 33, as we both turned a year older this weekend!  That's right, Ethan and I are less than 24 hours apart.  We figured it out one time, but I think he's something like 15 hours older than me.

We had a rousing good weekend filled with fun activities, festive drinks, and lots of time spent outdoors.  And tonight we're joint celebrating birthday-mother's day with dinner at my parent's house.  Hope you all had a nice weekend celebrating the moms or birthdays or good weather or anything and everything else!

(photos by e.hunt)

So Be It, Jedi

 May the Fourth be with you, always.  And also with you!

As it is Star Wars day, let's look back at a little piece I did during Covid (a non-blogging year, as it were) as a one-year dating anniversary gift for Ethan.  I had made him little notes and cards before, but this was my first piece of art I made specifically for him.  It still sits on the windowsill in our dining room.

Nerdy topics like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings were some of the first things we connected over, so I knew something having to do with either series would be perfect.  I laid out the two canvases, listed important locations spanning the original (and best) Star Wars trilogy, made a quick sketch for each one, penciled it out on the canvas, then water-colored away.  I had been wanting to work on my watercolor skills and this proved the perfect opportunity.

And here it is, still in it's spot on the sill, almost three years later.  When the light hits it just so, we think it kindof looks like an old film strip, no?

(photos by e.hunt)