Recently I’ve been trying to expose myself to more art and have been doing a lot of reading, studying, and researching of various artists, art forms, etc. I’ve been in the business and technology field all of my career, so I didn’t spend a lot of time in art classes in school (something I sorely regret now). And I’ve started haunting the museums in San Antonio, looking for pieces that speak to me. Like this one…

This is “Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevadas” by Albert Bierstadt. I’d heard of Bierstadt before and even seen a couple of his paintings in books, but I’d never seen anything in person. This particular painting hangs in the San Antonio Museum of Art as part of their permanent American Collection and is therefore accessible to me. I found it while visiting the museum for another exhibit, and I was mesmerized by it. This little JPEG doesn’t begin to do it justice.

Now, I’ve never been a big fan of landscape paintings. Most are of places I’ve never seen, and frankly a lot of them are downright boring. But this picture is breathtaking. I stood and looked at it for at least a half hour, marveling at how Bierstadt captured the sunlight streaming from the break in the clouds. I found myself more than once unconsciously looking to see where the light source was because the edges of the trees seemed to be really lit up. Since I’m not much of a painter, the technique was simply gorgeous and made me appreciate one person painting a scene from nature.

Definitely very inspiring and worth the look if you’re ever at the museum.

I found this right outside the San Antonio Museum of Art today. I love this sort of art, pieced together from found materials, and the quote (from Theodore Dreiser) is now a personal favorite.