refreshing your vision

We had a day off in Philadelphia today and so my friend Ron and I went to my favorite museum; The Brandywine River Museum, in Chadd's Ford. The collection is anchored by the works of the Wyeth family; N.C., Andrew and Jamie. N.C. is best known for his illustrations of classic novels like Treasure Island and A Boys King Arthur. His son, Andrew is best known for his water colors as well as his portrait of J.F.K.
Years ago, when our first children were born, someone gave me a documentary on the life of N.C. Wyeth written by the now famous David McCullough. The focus of the film was not the great art of N.C. but rather about what a great father he was. The video contains interviews of his children telling how their famous father helped to fire their imaginations. Three of the children became artists and one a concert pianist and composer.
Ron and I spent the morning walking thru the gallery on the third floor of the Brandywine, amidst the paintings I remember so well from my growing up years. There was Billy Bones or Blind Pew portrayed on canvanses so much larger than you might expect.
When we exited the museum, walking out into the green trees that line the banks of the Brandywine River, I noticed that the world seemed a different place. The colors appeared to be deeper and perhaps brighter than before. The random ambiguity of the branches of the trees seemed to be pointing to some hidden meaning in life. I began to realize that those few hours of intently looking at the paintings had refocused our eyes, had refreshed our vision.
So I encourage you to go the web sites of artists like Makoto Fujimura and Sandra Bowden, open your eye making them available to be refocused so that you can turn and see the world around you in a fresh way. Even as great literarture teaches us to listen to the world, great art encourages us to look at the world with new eyes.