Seattle photos!

The park before the tunnel, with flags

(me having fun with my camera)

(Mom and I taking pictures of each other)

(more flags)

(fun shadows at the park)

(pretty trees--the sun finally came out, although it was still rather chilly)

(a beautiful old building)

(crosswalk--me being artsy and distracted by shadows)

(a beautiful town hall)

(sun in Seattle!)

(the fog)

(shadows of some balloons)

Lunch

(outdoor seating) 

The cafe was beautiful, though--both the customers and staff were friendly, and very accommodating of my lack of love for pesto.

(pretty stone building)

(an interesting stop sign)

And here we are, finally!

The exhibit we came from San Francisco to see-Ties That Bind: American Artists in Europe. (It closed last week)

Here are a few of the paintings that were displayed in this exhibit: 

Charles Sprague Pearce. Sainte Genevieve, 1887. Oil on canvas. 82 x 66 in. 

This is the piece that appeared on the brochures for the exhibit, and was one of Mom and my favorites.

I love the brushstrokes in this painting. The looser, more wild green strokes in the grass and foliage contrast with the more controlled, flatter brushwork in Genevieve's clothes. This creates tension between atmosphere of her home life, brought to the painting by the houses in the background and her dress and shoes, and the wildness of the outdoors. Genevieve's sheep act as the middle ground, both literally in the painting, and as a domesticated part of nature.  

This painting reminds me of a Monet, Woman With A Parasol. The soft colors of the child evoke innocence, as the mother or nanny in a more restrictive green dress looks on. Their carefree attitude is mimicked by the brushstrokes of the flowers and the flowing movement of the path, touching both sides of the painting and disappearing in the background. Poppy-colored and white flowers in the foreground are mirrored by the bank of flowers in the right middleground and the far strip along the horizon line.