Arizona Sand

Beautiful natural sand formations in Arizona.

Vincent van Gogh

On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh died at age 37 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was born in the Netherlands and had a happy childhood, but suffered serious mental problems during his adult life.

He committed himself to an artistic career at age 27, and all of his art was produced during the next decade. A quote of his, "As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed."

While van Gogh’s Christian affiliations resulted in his interest in the suffering of others, when he moved to Arles he ceased painting poor peasants, and instead subjected himself to suffering under the undue strain of painting. Having known early in his life about the suffering many peasants undergo, it is no surprise that when he learned of Buddhism, van Gogh would embrace its ideas of enlightenment through suffering, as he did to Christianity.

Van Gogh was born with a brain lesion that many doctors believe was aggravated by his prolonged use of absinthe, causing his epileptic condition. Dr. Gachet, another of Van Gogh's physicians, was thought to have treated his epilepsy with digitalis. This prescription drug can cause one to see in yellow or see yellow spots. This may have been one of the reasons why Van Gogh loved this color.

Shoefiti

The fine old game of flinging shoes over wires or trees. A shoe tree, not to be confused with the shoe-preservation device of the same name, is a tree or a powerline pole or other wooden object that has been festooned with old shoes.

Shoe trees are generally located alongside a major local thoroughfare, and may have a theme, such as high-heeled shoes. There are currently at least seventy-six such shoe trees in the United States, and an undetermined number elsewhere. There have been many explanations why this happens, but no one really knows for sure. They do make an interesting, though weird, artistic statement.

Knit Graffitti

Equally interesting as the shoe trees and equally weird art are the the knitters that encircle everything from trees to posts to park benches. Examples can be found all over the world. Keep your eyes open and you might be surprised.

OK - that's enough art for today.