Mondrian soothes me for some reason. I can tell instantly the difference between a real Mondrian and one that is simply Mondrian-esque by the sense of calm it gives me. Freakish, I know.

I’m also partial to Kandinsky and Lichtenstein, and when I saw Seurat’s Un Dimanche Apres-Midi a l’Ile de la Grande Jatte for the first time I was completely overwhelmed and had tears in my eyes. 

Hans Holbein’s paintings have a special place in my heart, though. They inspired me to study art history. Check out The Ambassadors!

HI Joan,  ny son is still finding his way.  He is interviewing for grad school but so far…????  He has an interview at Yale tomorrow.   Boy I seem to pray more than ever now that my kids are grown.  For the most part the experiences he has had were internships he applied to while in undergrad.   He is a very hard working enterprising person and lives art - has ever since he was about 4. 

I had to smile at your daughter’s interests being pulled by "someone".   She must be very sillful to be asked to do medical drawings - that is no easy task.  When I was in college (while I was a fine arts major - I eventually ended up with an MBA in finance LOL) they had a seperate discipline for medical drawing.   Is your daughter doing anything with art now?

I saw an amazing retrospective on Georgia O’Keefe many years ago at the Washington Gallery. It had a profound affect on me. I could never quite look at art the same way. It was about the process of an artist, not the product. I continue to look at my own work this way.

James, you are right about Grennfield Village (and The Henry Ford Museum)  MUST sees for anyone who hasn’t been there!  We had a pass for a couple of years to Greenfield Village and loved being able to just go for a couple of hours whenever we wanted.  Used to sit on a hill and watch their 1800’s baseball teams and the band that played during the game.  Loved the victorian costumed people walking around or playing hoop games on the square  or listen to the singers from that period that were staged at different locations.  Not to mention the historic homes of Thomas Edison, Webster, 1600 stone farm, 1800’s Firestone farm  etc etc etc, 

I have never been to Isle Royal either- it is supposed to be more untouched than anywhere else.  I was on the Snake River in Wyoming  and the guide told all of us if we wanted to see real wilderness you should go to the U.P.  of Michigan.