Latest art cards

I haven't posted any of my art cards in a while and I'm feeling a little artsy today, so here goes.

Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" 1907-08

Go to iklimt.com for a very nicely done slideshow on Klimt, his life and his work. Nice music in the background, too.

According to this card from Poland, this painting, "Alicja" was painted by M. Adamczyk.

 

 "Autumn Varberg" by Swedish painter Nils Krueger

Krueger is best known for his landscapes and cityscapes of Paris and vicinity, often at dawn or dusk, in the mist, rain or snow.

 

 This is "Kreeta Haapasalo Playing the Kantele in a Peasant Cottage", painted by Finnish artist Robert Wilhelm Ekman in 1868. So what the heck is a kantele and who is Kreeta Haapasalo? 

 

The kantele is a plucked string instrument similar to a zither, and native to Finland, Estonia and Karelia. That answers my first question. Kreeta became well known for her singing and kantele playing, which she did mostly to raise a little money to support her 11 children and her almost-good-for-nothing husband. (Obviously he was good for SOMETHING.)

Her songs were often very sad. Mine would be too, if I had 11 children and my husband didn't work.

"Peach Trees in Blossom" by Vincent van Gogh, 1888.

 

 "Monet's Wife and Child' by guess who........YES, Claude Monet. Very good.

 

 "Reclining Figure" by Fernand Léger, 1922.

 

I think it's funny that this painting is part of a collection belonging to the Sara Lee Corporation. Let this be a reminder that too much pastry can be harmful to your figure.

You may now exit the museum.

Crater Lake, Oregon

In an unusual burst of good timing, a recent trip to Crater Lake and the Rogue River National Forest in Oregon was absolutely done at the best possible time. We had 70+ degree days, no rain, no wind, only a few tourists, and the most wonderful pine-scented air to breathe. I came home with lots of pictures, but unfortunately I couldn't bring any of the air.

  I took this from the car window as we were driving along the road to our rental cabin.

There are many, many hiking trails in this area and you never have to go very far to find a river or a waterfall.

Although it would have been exciting to see a cougar, it's probably a very good thing that we didn't!  We kept our eyes open for Bigfoot too!

The little store where we purchased odds and ends while staying at the cabin in the woods. We are so used to having a television and the cabin did not have one so we purchased a set of dominoes here and spent one whole evening playing.

The Rogue River

 The Rogue River

If you have never been to Crater Lake, try to make it some day. It is one of the most amazing natural sights I've ever seen. It helps when the weather is perfect like this, too!  The big island is called Wizard Island.

This little island is called the Phantom Ship.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. 

I'm very behind in showing you the great postcards I've been getting, but stay tuned, they will be coming.