My Painting Finds a Home in Florida And American Artist Daniel Garber

Good day. VERY good day. Long may they continue.

"You have to push yourself. You have to change. It’s a hard thing to do. Nobody likes change. People get comfortable where they are and they don’t want to risk losing what they’ve got. But to become the best you’re capable of becoming, you have to be willing to do uncomfortable things. You have to be willing to change."
— Darrin Donnelly (Victory Favors the Fearless: How to Defeat the 7 Fears That Hold You Back (Sports for the Soul Book 5))

"You can choose to look backward or look forward. The choice is yours. The backward thinker will fall into insecurity and self-pity. The forward thinker will respond with confidence and a sense of empowerment."
— Darrin Donnelly (The Turnaround: How to Build Life-Changing Confidence (Sports for the Soul Book 6))

"You can’t force the outcomes. You have to give your very best, live in the moment, be grateful for the opportunity, and then accept the outcome"
— Darrin Donnelly (Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything (Sports for the Soul Book 3))

I had a little pity party for myself yesterday. Too many goodbyes, even nice ones, make me cranky. And this has been a MONTH of goodbyes. I went to bed mad and fractious, and held onto the feeling. Sometimes anger feels GOOD, it heats you and gets you moving. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much moving at 1 a.m. when I woke up still fractious. So I ordered a book on Kindle and read it cover to cover - well, you know what I mean - in three hours.

Mind blown. A book about a struggling golf pro who seeks help from a senior, former PGA player and turns his life around with positive thoughts, belief in a higher power, acceptance of things he can’t change and appreciation for what he has. I loved every page, every vignette spoke to my struggles over the last two years.

Behold, the wonderful book. Click for the link to Amazon.

I felt a lot better after the book, so I had some good news for Earl the Therapist for a change. I’m starting to see my self-sabotage - the overkill of going from problem solving attorney to catastrophizing retiree. I can see the down side of wanting certainty and fearing the unknown, instead of welcoming new opportunities. Or being jealous of the happiness and prosperity of others instead of appreciating all that I already have in my life.

(Okay, the pragmatic side of me also thinks, GEEZ, why did you have to read a book and feel better BEFORE you saw Earl? That’s a waste of a good hour of therapy! He didn’t have to work too hard to get you back to normal. Maybe you should ask for a partial refund? Think about it.)

Instead of saying ‘Wah!! How can I leave my family and friends and start over in Australia?!?’ I should be shouting ‘ How lucky am I, people! I’m 62 and I have enough money, enough health, enough drive and enough chutzpah to move around the world to Tasmania and see what else is out there!’ The second sounds a lot better, doesn’t it? Oh, and how lucky am I to have a husband who was willing to do all the heavy lifting on the move while I catastrophized and grieved in the corner? I’ll answer that. VERY LUCKY.

I woke up this morning and thought positively about all I planned to do. I talked back to my ego voice when it tried to tell me I would fail. I sang with the radio and noticed the beautiful sky. I called friends on the phone for a chat while running my errands. I did NOT look at the news, I did NOT read Twitter, I did NOT panic over all that’s left to accomplish before the move. We’re moving, whether I pack just so or not.

I sort of feel like my old self. Practically, I know I will have a few more bad days, but I think they might just be bad days, rather than the dark foreteller of gloom and doom for the rest of my life that Downer Fraulein Zen has been selling with such relish in the wee hours.

That little book crammed every piece of advice everyone has been trying to get me to understand, put it in a fictional format and told a story I could follow. The author spoon fed me the big tenets of life, and I ate it up like ice cream. He has seven more books, and I have plenty of time to read once we finish boxing up our house next week.

ANYWAY. On to the art. I painted this two years ago, then went back to correct some things last year before finally deciding I’d learned enough from it. One of my friends from Germany fell in love with it - the scene IS quintessentially German - and so I Fedexed the painting to her this afternoon. Better to have it hanging on a wall in Florida with someone who appreciates the scene rather than in the back of a closet in Australia, right?

Yeah, still unhappy about that roofline of the red building, but I’m gonna have to let that go. It spoke to someone and that’s all I can ask. Perfection is not always necessary in ART. (How’s THAT for pretentious?) Or at least that’s what I tell myself. If you want to see the earlier versions of the painting’s painful progress, as well as a review of the holiday apartment, check here - Visa Approved! And another painting, another learning experience

She’s paying for shipping, but the painting is a gift. I might hit her up for some jarred pimentos if I can’t find any in Tazzie. I have a feeling I might have a little difficulty if I want some stone ground grits or pimento cheese salad down there. I wonder if I can barter paintings for Southern food? Hmmm. Moon pies, pickled okra, maybe some pecan divinity. I’ll have to think about it.

Before I get too far down into the negative brain groove missing the food, let me find the up side. I’ll be living on an island with fresh dairy, fresh seafood and fresh market farm stands on the edge of the road. I’m sure I can get used to it! And moon pies and divinity - that’s a lot of sugar that I don’t need, people. It’s a fair trade.

So, my friend from our days in Vilseck, Germany, I hope this little painting of the view from our holiday apartment in Randersacker brings you joy and fun memories. Boy, did we have some GREAT times in that beautiful place! (And let me know if you need a companion for the Danube Christmas River Cruise one year, I’m up for flying back for something that fun.)

On to some REAL art. This guy is a wowser. I love the way he uses trees in the foreground. Perfect.

The biography is by Emery Battis, Artist Biographies for the exhibition American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2000)

Daniel Garber, one of the most interesting and original of the late American impressionists, was born in North Manchester, Indiana, the youngest son of a Mennonite family.

As a youth he studied with Frank Duveneck at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and later at the Pennsylvania Academy with Thomas Anschutz and J. Alden Weir.

In 1905 he received a fellowship to study abroad from the Pennsylvania Academy, and while in England he painted works that are the most strictly impressionist of his career.

On his return to America in 1907 he established a studio in Lumbersville in Bucks County, just north of New Hope, Pennsylvania, and in the ensuing years became a central figure in the New Hope art community.

During these years he developed two different modes of painting. His more conventionally impressionistic works were lightly painted with attention to the shape and detail of the subject matter.

His other, more popular style was more decorative and poetic, as exemplified in Tohickon. (below)

Framed by sinuous tree trunks silhouetted in the foreground, a planar regression into the distance is bathed in a soft luminous light. It was a quietly lyrical style distinctly opposed to the bravura technique adopted by his colleagues in the New Hope colony.

In 1919 he began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy and at his retirement thirty years later was one of its most loved and respected instructors.

Wow, look at that light on the hair and the carpet. Fabulous. I can but aspire - and maybe one day paint something similar! The sky’s the limit.