Nostalgia of Joy
Dear readers,
Recently, I was walking in the gardens of Luxembourg when a particularly colorful poster caught my attention. Once in front, a slight smile drew on my face and a tear ran down my cheek. I cannot explain why. Sometimes sensations of joy and sadness blends into us, creating feelings of great intensity.
This poster made me this effect, it was a poster of a famous painter. Although more than an artist for me, a man who has marked my life. Walasse Ting, have you heard talk about him?
Certainly we were not from to the same generation but we had a heart stroke for each other, “a kind of spiritual connection". You probably already had the chance to experience that feeling. You meet just one person, you do not know why, it is not explained, but your conversation is easy, interesting and above all natural. Suddenly I felt projected into the memories of my past. It was autumn, I was visiting a friend who was doing the studies in the Dutch capital. She had class during the day so she joined me later in the afternoon which left me time to explore freely the city of 1001 sins.
An unusual artist
Taking advantage of the beaming time, I was walking in the floral and peaceful Vondel Park. Once in a most intimate part of the park, I saw a man painting. I did not want to disrupt his inspiration but curious, I decided to quietly approach him. I was amazed, fascinated by the glow of vitality which got her painting with acrylic colors. I sat and stood there to admire the elegance of the movement of his paintbrush on the canvas and the magnitude of the colors he applied.
After a long moment he turned and asked me why I was still there? I told him I was also a painter in my spare time and he moved me. So we began to discuss about our works, our lives and our ways of understanding it. I was bewitched by his charisma, his vision of the world and mainly by his passion for the beauty of life. This exchange marked me for life, our friendship did not stop after our discussion at the Vondel Park of Amsterdam. We meet every year since, in a different city. Unfortunately in 2007 at the age of 80 years his inspiration flew... My whole life, his philosophy of life gave me the courage to go through the trials of life and learn to accept them for better delight with his beauty.
This poster upset me, though I was glad to see that the Cernuschi Museum tribute paid him by exposing a collection characterizing women, flowers and animals. An exhibition that has never been exposed before and which was the subject of a major restoration campaign in recent years.
I leave you with one of its most beautiful words "Keep your eyes open, the world is seductive and magical. "
See you soon!
