Art – Letters from Home

Mark’s Woods Project 2024

Mark made this bed frame and two side shelves with cabinets during the 2023-24 school year. Getting everything set up in his room has taken some time this summer, and the furniture is beautiful.

The painting was a gift, a very generous gift, and the mountains remind me of our trip to the Grand Tetons this summer.

I have learned a secret about the spaces and rooms that missionaries leave behind. They are holy places because they represent many of the things they have sacrificed in order to serve.

I asked Paige to illustrate each member of my stake Primary presidency. The upper collage shows the most recent group and the lower collage shows all of the women who served with me during my five+ years as president.

We were released last weekend. The keepsakes from this calling are this little portrait collage and hundreds of lessons of the heart.

My art gallery

I am getting these ready to display in the stairwell. These little cross stitch pieces are a delightful hobby for me.

Last studio recital

Last night was Mark’s last piano recital with his studio. He will have a solo recital next month, so I am grateful that we have one more moment where we can see him shine as he plays the piano. I can’t count the number of recitals we have attended over the last 18 years, but I can tell you that Bridget’s recitals were the best.

Mark played the Chopin Impromptu No. 1 in A-flat with maturity and skill. It was a great event to inaugurate a month of celebrations for Mark, our high school senior.

Two unforgettable paintings

This is a screenshot from a lecture on YouTube. It shows two versions of works by Van Gogh. The piece on the left was painted outdoors and analysis has shown his materials and the order that he added colors. Plein air painting has its drawbacks, including wind and changes in lighting, so he had to work quickly. Notice how vibrant the colors are on the left painting.

The painting on the right was done in his asylum studio, away from the elements, after the painting on the left was finished. The image on the right is more harmonious and less vibrantly colored.

I saw these paintings at the Met last summer displayed side by side and they are really memorable to me. I immediately liked the more brightly colored one and assumed that the more muted painting reflected the sadness of the asylum where he painted it. But that’s not how the artist saw things.

First: *Wheat Field with Cypresses*, September 1889

Van Gogh said that the less vibrant painting, the second version, was the definitive work. After learning more about both paintings, I can see that the more muted painting is more intentional and refined. The wind in the cypresses is more evident in the second one, too.

Second: *A Wheatfield, with Cypresses*, September 1889

With art, we can like what we like, but learning more about the artist’s process has helped me to appreciate the qualities of both versions.

Children’s Book Illustrator

Little Baby McLaughlin will be lucky to have Paige as a mom for many reasons. She knows how to raise boys, she is patient and gentle, she is a woman of faith, and she is an artist. It is fun for children to watch a parent draw something well. I bet he will ask her to draw all kinds of things and he will be delighted with the results. Lucky baby.

These children’s books were illustrated by Paige and they were privately published, so they are not available for sale. They were my Christmas presents. I am such a fan of Paige’s work. 💕

To see some of her work, you can look at her website, paigemclaughlinart.com.

They are stacking up.

It’s time to go shopping for frames for these tiny cross stitch projects. These are not gifts this time, but I am making them for our house. I would like to create a gallery in the narrow, framed-in panels of our stairwell.

Mark’s Medal

Mark has been preparing a piece for a piano competition since June. After his performance before the judges, we received a phonecall that he was invited to perform at the awards recital. Friends, we knew his effort, and we knew that his piece was amazing, but hadn’t considered that we would be coming back to see him receive an award. I don’t know, something about the musical community is just so intimidating. We were thrilled that he received recognition among really great musicians. Mark knows the first place winner through piano lessons, so it was so fun to celebrate both of them as they received their medals.