English impressionism

Yes, same-sex marriages began in Alabama today. Alas, I don't have time this evening to relate all the sweet and juicy details.

One reason why I don't have time is because I went off this afternoon to see the movie Mr. Turner about the life and art of painter Joseph Mallord William Turner. I got to know Turner's art a couple years ago when I was in Liverpool, England and my hotel was in the same dockside complex as the Tate Liverpool Museum, where there was an exhibit comparing the art of Turner with that of Monet. The Monet was enough to get me in the door. I found the art of Turner to be both wonderful and strange because here was an Englishman who seemed to be doing impressionistic work a half century before the French.

There were a few of his canvases shown in the movie that I recognized from the museum. There was also a scene that I recognized as being the inspiration for another canvas – he was shown working on it just a few moments later.

The movie was more a character study than a story with a conflict in need of resolution. His artwork is exceptional – and we see lots of it in the movie – the man, not so much. In this portrayal he grunted a lot. Some artist colleagues thought highly of him, parts of the general public mocked him. Beyond that, it seems hard to describe him in just a few words. So, go see the movie (if you can find it) or visit his Wikipedia entry, which at least has samples of his work.