Has a painting ever changed your life?
For me, I was a freshman at Oberlin College when I first saw Monet's Wisteria that hangs in the Allen Memorial Art Museum.
This painting is one that you need to experience in person. It's enormous. It's almost impossibly large. Applying each brush stroke was a physical act. And up close it's messy. It's confusing. It doesn't really make sense. But then if you step across the room and take another look you're suddenly transported to a space. You can see wisteria vines and sense the space around them. It's calming and transformative. At least it was for me!
At 18 I had no idea how that affect could be achieved. I chalked it up to Monet's personal genius and gained an interest in studying art history so I could better understand a variety of genius artists.
I had no idea what was planted in me when I first laid eyes on that painting. I yearned to be able to create in that way. I am finally devoting my time to creating spaces with my paintings and I've never been happier.
Go look at some art. See what it stirs in you!