Tags

, , ,

I am back from New York City, and busy in the studio trying to complete three canvases I have been working on since before Christmas. Tonight there is a possibility of freezing rain. Winter.

Image 3

I am never happier than in my studio when the work is going well, no matter what the weather outside.

Image 2

But as content as I am, I miss the snow and museums of last week’s visit to New York.

IMG_0488

Even as I work at my easel, my thoughts continually return to those amazing winter scenes of Central Park.  Perhaps because I grew up in New York, no matter how cold or uninviting it may seem to most tourists, I still gain new energy from it whatever the weather.

IMG_0486The last Friday of my visit I got up and out early so I could get to the Museum of Modern Art right as it opened.  Usually that is not the smartest strategy, but I figured with the frigid temps (high of 22 degrees that day), the usual opening line would be diminished.

I was right. I walked right up to the ticket desk and passed information to check my coat. There was an amazing multi-screen installation in the upper lobby which I went in and out of all day.

IMG_0696 I was ready for MOMA.

Always one of my favorite museums, I have read recently that MOMA is getting ready to do a major renovation.  I’m not sure how I feel about that. So much of the museum seems still familiar to me from my youth, even though I  know they have changed things before now.

IMG_0685 Still, walking through the galleries, I feel  like I have come home.

IMG_0670

I’ll never tire of the museum, no matter what they do to expand or rearrange it.

IMG_0599 IMG_0646And even though some of the more contemporary exhibitions can be daunting, I still find favorites mixed in.

IMG_0588

I am not as much into experimental or performance art.  I still prefer paint on canvas or paper, or sculpture that seems to recall rather than confound.IMG_0590 IMG_0589

But the whole package is sublime, and the images kept me warm all day whether inside…

IMG_0595…or back out into the winter fantasy of Central Park.

IMG_0534Sometimes a winter day is the perfect day to be in the city.

All photos by me of Central Park and MOMA.