A Special Trip to "Seeing Nature"

Here we are under John Grade’s large-scale sculpture, Middle Fork, which echoes the contours of a 140-year-old western hemlock tree located in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. It's suspended over us in the main lobby at the Seattle Art Museum.

Beginning by making a full plaster cast of the living tree, the artist and a cadre of volunteers used this mold to recreate the tree’s form out of thousands of pieces of reclaimed old-growth cedar.

Clean, bright and white on white, even the carafes, condiments and recyclable utensils are artfully inspired. We're making our selections from the appetizing menu at "Taste", the museum cafe. Anticipation for the upcoming tour of "seeing Nature" was one of the main topics of conversation at lunch.

This was one of the top favorites in our group probably because, of all the oil paintings, it most resembles watercolor.

It's not everyone who can say they have a Monet, Cezanne or Manet in their private collection.

I particularly liked this Venetian painting by Eduard Manet. It reminds me a lot of John Singer Sargent's work.

Edward Hopper's gigantic panorama of the Grand Canyon features arresting colors. I could "feel" the heat! See how such a thin strip of sky is used to enhance the feeling of vast depth in the canyon.

We all stood on the steps with the sculpture for one more photo. I trust you are encouraged by this small selection of the artwork to visit the collection and enjoy a guided tour for more insights. The show goes through May 23, 2017.