Today is my birthday. For this Art Wednesday I’m going to be a bit self-indulgent and share some works I’ve come to love in more recent years. And I’ll share a bit about my own journey with art.

Albert Bierstadt, Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865)
This is my fourth year posting this Art Wednesday series. I started it to inject some beauty into the social media stream, but I also have done it to learn.

Pissarro, The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning, 1897
I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned about art curating this series. It has forced me to stay curious, to spend time looking, thinking, and reflecting. I’ve developed an art habit.

Norman Rockwell, Breaking Home Ties, 1954
When I started, I knew little or nothing about Degas, Bierstadt, Pissarro, or Homer. I’m no expert on them now, but they—and so many others—are in the front of my mind, and I look forward to what I will learn in time.

Degas, Blue Dancers, 1897
I’ve written Art Wednesday series because you’ve recommended artists for me to check out. Out of a sense of obligation I’ve written about some artists I don’t like that much. Like Donatello. 😊 But I adore painters like Homer.

Homer, Eastern Point Lighthouse, 1880
My art teacher in High School told us to pay attention to artists we like for the rest of our lives, and if we did those artists would introduce us to their friends and mentors. She was right. It keeps happening.

Turner, Peace, Burial at Sea, 1842
I won’t keep doing Art Wednesday forever, but I plan to keep it going at least through the end of this year. I look forward to what I’ll learn, and to what you all will add as we look at art together. Thanks for following along.

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