Light falls through the leaves of a plane tree and makes a moving pattern on the pavement. A tiled café floor, cracked in one corner. The steam rising from a cup in the cold morning air. A woman's red coat against a grey wall.
None of these are in a museum. All of them are art, if you know how to look.
We often think of art as something we go to: a gallery, an exhibition, a ticket and a queue. But the habit of looking that art teaches us can be practiced anywhere, every day. That's what it means to breathe art in.
Look with a painter's eyes
Painters spend their lives noticing what others walk past. You can borrow their way of seeing:
1. Notice the light. Where is it coming from? Is it warm or cold? What shadows does it make? Light changes everything, and painters know it. 2. Look for frames. A doorway, a window, the gap between two buildings. Anything can become a composition when you frame it. 3. Find one color. Choose a color in the morning and look for it all day. You'll be surprised how often it appears. 4. Notice textures. Bark, stone, linen, old wood. Imagine painting them, and see how much detail they hold. 5. Look up. Cornices, balconies, rooftops, sky. Most of a city's beauty is above eye level.
Let it into your days
Take a few photos, not to post, but to remember. Keep a small notebook for things you noticed. Talk about art with friends, read about an artist's life, and visit a museum now and then to refresh your eyes. Little by little, you start to live surrounded by beauty you used to miss.
Bring it home
The art you choose to live with shapes how you see every day. A print on your wall becomes something you breathe in each morning without thinking about it, a small daily invitation to look.
That's what my Tuileries prints are for: a deconstructed view of the Jardin des Tuileries in spring, crisp air, blooms and bright blue sky, a tribute to life and renewal. Each print is hand-finished and signed, and comes with a meditation letter. A garden to breathe in every day, even on the greyest morning.
Remember to take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.
Love, Evi