We often forget the price that artists pay. Yes, they make a lot of money, but the personal cost is often greater than most of us could not only imagine, but in fact be able to pay. Vincent Van Gogh was one such artist that had a horrendous price that was to be paid. His tragic death was believed to be a suicide by shotgun on July 27, 1890. He was a mere 37 years old. How much fun was his life if he felt the only option at 37 years of age was suicide. I suggest to you that it wasn’t much fun at all. The life of the greats is truly one that for the most part, is living on the edge of destruction.

An argument can be made that it’s this living on the edge that allows for them to be the great and over the top masters in their chosen fields that they are. While you may not like or love Van Gogh’s paintings, you have to recognize that he’s consider to be a giant in his field. 2 decades later we are still in awe of what he’s done and how he’s done it. There are entire classes that are wrapped around who was Vincent and how did he do the artwork that he’s done.

Masterpieces by the Master!

One of the most intriguing things that Van Gogh has done is to create a wide range of masterpieces. Contrary to what many believe, he created more than just Starry Starry Night.

While this is a beautiful painting, he created a much broader base than this beautiful representation of our galaxy. Did you know for example, that he created flowers:

Pink Roses

Vase of Roses, Vincent van Gogh

Vase Of Roses

Did you know that he also made fields?

Femme Dans un Jardin

(A Garden Woman In The Garden)

House at Auyers

Then there are his paintings that are on the more gruesome side:

Schadel

The Heart of Vincent Van Gogh!

Part of what sets Vincent apart from so many other great artist is the fact that he did more than one style of painting. If you’re not fond of one, then chances are there’s another style that he made that will work well for you. It’s not just about Starry Starry Night, although that is more than just an adequate place to start. Thus proving that he is more than just a flash in the pan or a one hit wonder.

Your Home!

Should you desire to have Vincent be part of your home, you can. It’s not just about buying one of his paintings or a calendar. Did you know that you can also make your own Starry Starry Night or Schadel or any of the others mentioned here? That’s right you can. How? Chelsea Needlepoint, has transferred the works of this great artist onto canvas so that you can have the opportunity to have the works of this great artist in your home. Isn’t it about time that you do that?

12/2015 by Sarah Roussos

New Year ~ New Hobby

The New Year is just around the corner and with it comes all those so called New Resolutions. It’s not surprising that New Year’s resolutions don’t work. The reason they don’t is usually a simple one, the changes aren’t tied to an emotional event. It’s true, they (the research scientist’s) have found that if something is tied to an emotional event then it greatly increases the likelihood that you will stick with it. People often think it’s because they resolution is to big. While sometimes it is, it’s truly the emotional ties that make the difference.

Exercise!

Exercise is always a common goal that people come up with. It’s a fine example of why and how people fail. They decide they’re going to ‘get fit’, and when life get’s in the way, well they fall off the exercise bandwagon. It’s not that they don’t want to do it, it’s just other things are more important. All of that running around get’s in the way. So resolution failed.

You can pick topic after topic that this occurs with, it’s all the same: instead of exercise it’s smoking, eating, drinking you name it. Maybe you should try something else instead. A life resolution.

Life Resolutions!

Life resolutions begin on they day you begin them. They can be broken, but there’s no condemnation if you slip up, you just begin again and try again. You’re not defeated, you just need a do-over. And because you haven’t quit, you keep going. They only way that a life resolution fails, is if you stop doing it. Having said that, if you decide you don’t want to do (or not do) a life resolution any more, that’s not the same thing as quitting. Why? Because you’ve decided that it doesn’t work for you and you’re going to redirect your energy and resources in another direction.

A Hobby!

As mentioned early, most of the time people look at making major changes to correct things in their lives. Such things as exercise, smoking, drinking are often considered to be negative things that you’re trying to change in your life. But consider something that is much easier to do and you don’t have to change your entire world to do it. Consider taking on a new hobby…needlework and here are some of the reasons why!

Needlework also called needlepoint, is something that you can take with you anywhere. It’s no pressure and it something that you have no deadline to get done on, and that makes it something relaxing and fun. There’s not a lot you can’t create with needlepoint and one of the most fascinating things is that you can recreate the works of famous artist like Vincent Van Gogh

and Picasso.

The End Result!

The end result of your life resolution should be that you are doing something to improve your life as you see fit to improve it. If you’re happy where you are, then stay where, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re not, resolve to change things one small step at a time!

12/2015 by Sarah Roussos