(The Starry Night, June 1889 by Vincent van Gogh) Painted by DS

Van Gogh painted The Starry Night near the mental asylum of Saint-Remy, 13 months before his death.  His mental instability is legend; he attempted to take  Paul Gaugin’s life; he cut off part of his ear lobe and he later committed himself to an asylum.  The painting vibrates with rockets of burning yellow while the stars gyrate like cartwheels.  Some pundits believe the eleven stars are religiously symbolic.  In Genesis 37:9 the following statement is made:

“And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.”

The hills and small village sit below the vibrant crescent moon. The sense of movement, whirling, and continuous is enhanced and exaggerated by Van Gogh’s large, swiped brush strokes and use of color. Before he painted The Starry Night, he wrote prophetically to his brother Theo:

The moon is still shining, and the sun and the evening star, which is a good thing – and they also speak of the love of God, and make one think of the words: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Vincent van Gogh (March 30, 1853 – July 29, 1890) is considered one of the greatest Dutch painters but he had little success during his lifetime. He sold only one painting.  Van Gogh never enjoyed the monetary success of his counterpart Rembrandt.  Van Gogh produced all of his work (some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings) during a 10 year period before he succumbed to mental illness and committed suicide.  

This summer I painted 10 of his works which has been an interesting study of color, subjects and art.  It has been an attempt to understand the psyche, life and friendships of a man whose life ended way too soon.  Van Gogh died at the age of 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Most of what is understood about his thoughts, beliefs and life is documented in letters to his younger brother Theo who also helped him out monetarily through the years so he could paint.

When he moved to Paris in 1886,  van Gogh discovered the French Impressionists.  Later when he moved to the south of France, taken by the strong sunlight, van Gogh’s works grew brighter in color and he developed his unique and highly recognizable style.  From the time in Paris onwards, Van Gogh’s paintings reflect different adaptations of impressionist brushwork, separate patches of color being applied with varying thickness and direction in a way that makes each painting a fresh experience. 

I have one more painting to go, my personal favorite–The Starry Night (1889).  It has been a wonderful summer with van Gogh.

This is an easy and delicious summer meal and it will satisfy anyone’s ravenous appetite. (August 10, 2011)

Ingredients:

2 chive stems-diced (added with peas)
3 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1  1/4  cup Vigo saffron yellow rice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 red, 1 yellow and 1 orange bell pepper, slice into 1/4 length strips and chop 1/4 of them
18 mussels scrubbed 

3/4 lb shrimp (medium), peeled and deveined

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

You will need a large stock pot with cover, a 12 inch fry pan, and a glass casserole dish 8 inches by 12 inches.

Directions:
Cook the onion, garlic, chopped peppers and rice
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and pre-heat to 400°F.

In a large stock pot over medium heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer ( eventually use this pot to cook the seafood). In a 12-inch fry pan over medium  heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onion, garlic, chopped peppers and sauté until the onion is soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the rice to the vegetable mixture and cook, stirring, until all the grains are well coated, about 2 minutes. Pour all but 3/4 cup of the warm broth  from the stock pot into the 12 inch fry pan with the rice and vegetable mixture and stir in the salt. Bring to a boil. Pour the mixture in the casserole dish and spread the rice in an even layer, arrange the pepper slices on top of the rice mixture and transfer the casserole dish to the lowest rack of the oven. Cook until the rice has absorbed nearly all of the liquid, about 20 minutes.

Cook the shellfish
While the rice in the casserole dish is baking, add the mussels to the stock pot with the remaining broth.  Cover, bring to a boil and cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the mussels open, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a bowl, discarding any that did not open. Add the shrimp to the pot, remove from the heat and let stand until opaque.

Finish the paella
After 20 minutes, remove the casserole dish with the rice from the oven , press the mussels, hinge side down, into the rice. Using the slotted spoon, spread the shrimp over the rice. Scatter the peas and chives over all. Pour the remaining liquid from the stock pot (spoon in gently and evenly, discard the very last few table spoons of liquid as hard parts of the mussel shells may have surfaced) over the rice and return the casserole dish to the oven to bake for 10 minutes more or until the liquid is absorbed.  Some liquid will remain inside the mussel shells. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Seafood, by Jay Harlow (Oxmoor House, 2007).

(Juno Beach,  August 6, 2011)

Faith,  courage and instinct resonate with these massive reptiles.  I am amazed every time I spot a turtle come to shore to lay her eggs on a Florida summer night. They are defenseless.  Whether it is a false crawl or they are digging.  it takes an enormous amount of time, diligence and navigation in the dark–a place that scares many of us.   

Even a turtle has lessons to teach us about risk taking, courage and perseverance.

As the saying goes, “If you take a risk in your life, you may lose.  If you never take a risk, you always lose”.   The female turtle takes enormous risks every night to make her  journey to the shore but the rewards are huge.

(Photographs were taken when turtles were by the ocean on their return trip with back lighting so nesting or journey not disturbed.)

The classic Charlotte’s Web is a story that speaks of friendship and acceptance. The pig Wilbur is at loss and threatened to be killed until he meets Charlotte. Charlotte tells Wilbur in a warm and soothing voice that she is going to be his friend. The next day, Wilbur wakes up and meets Charlotte, the grey spider.

Wilbur becomes a member of the community of animals who live in a barn. When the old sheep in the barn tell Wilbur that he is going to be killed and eaten at Christmas, Wilbur turns to Charlotte for help. Charlotte has the magnificent idea of writing words in her web extolling Wilbur’s excellence–“some pig,” “terrific,” “radiant” and “humble” for all to see, reasoning that if she can make Wilbur recognized and sufficiently famous, he will not be killed. 

The message is clear and the story is wonderful at any age so if you have not read it, it is worth it!

Diane’s Backyard,  July 30, 2011–an Orb-weaver spider–only builds in the evening and takes it down by sunrise–an amazing feat!

It is so insightful–breaking barriers and busting out. You need to challenge yourself to do new things every day.  And it is so enriching when you paint, you get unplugged–no TV, computers, texting.  It is fun and you learn a thing or two about yourself and others.  The human psyche is fascinating–how we visualize,  interpret and express ourselves.

One thing is for sure you can live and breathe the ones you love but the individuals you least expect can surprise and delight you with their talent.  It makes “leaving your comfort zone” worth the journey.

It is a wonderful outdoor venue along the coast of Jupiter in Carlin Park–the Seabreeze Amphitheatre.  This weekend, beneath a full moon, we saw a production of The Tempest (on its 400th year anniversary).  The Tempest was considered progressive for its time using every technological trick.  The play’s story line is about conjuring images–supernatural, corporeal and theatrical.  Shakespeare’s work is undoubtedly timeless.  The stage was constructed with simple lines. The lighting and sound were superb in reflecting the machinations of the mind and sea.

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, written in the early 1600’s and thought to be the last play Shakespeare wrote alone.

It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place, using illusion and skillful manipulation.  Prospero, (wonderfully played by Kevin Crawford) conjures up a storm and Ariel, the airy spirit and siren, lures to the island his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit Alonso, King of Naples.  The plot quickly unravels before your eyes. 

If you live in the area and enjoy a seafaring plot, young love, comic relief and a brilliant cast,  go see the magic at Carlin Park. It ends July 24th.

Here is a toast to Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary and his ability to amuse, confuse and entertain us–“you cram these words into mine ears against the stomach of my sense.” 

Our second painting session.  Three hours later and a busy van Gogh (above work by RAR) painted his masterpiece!

We spent the afternoon at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.  This month they are featuring the 60^th All Florida Juried Exhibition which offers a glimpse of present day art, through the eyes of emerging artists in Florida, through their paintings, sculpture, photography, video and installations. It was simply provocative.  Degas was famous for saying, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”   The exhibit is worth seeing.  

We began our visit through the sculpture garden and strolled by Paola Epifani’s (more commonly known as Rabarama) larger than life enigmatic figure.  Epifani creates colorful and trippy sculptures topped with patterns that are loaded with symbolism such as puzzles, mazes and spirals. We also enjoyed the Cuban artist and sculptor known for his mastery of realism, Julio Larraz’s tea cups precariously stacked 15 feet high in the entrance of the museum symbolizing the unrest in life and politics. 

Indulge yourself.  You leave inspired.