The Art of Reading

How quickly time passes and seasons change. Yule, Christmas and New Year have flown by and I've let them pass without note. I apologise - I've never let that happen before. I've been in an introverted phase recently, feeling more comfortable in the acts of absorbing and accumulating rather than trying to express myself or attempting to create. This means I have been reading more than I allow myself to normally, which in turn makes me feel like I am coming home to myself, doing something familiar, safe, indulging and escapist.

Curious as to how others expressed the emotions and comforts of reading I had a look around deviantART, and came across this beautiful painting that I just couldn't take my eyes off:

'Woman reading a book' by ranonus

 (click on the link above and view the enlarged version, you won't regret it!)

There is a feeling about this piece that I want to label 'eternity'. The reader doesn't seem old or young: she's as ageless as a story. The book has her full attention, and looks like it has been thumbed through many times as the pages aren't holding crisply together. She is a warm, colourful subject, and although there is light coming in from the left, there is a glow, an aura around her head like a halo as if something else is shining on her. Is it the book causing the light? Perhaps the act of reading is generating a physical force in the world...Looking at this painting is looking at an everlasting act, one that is timeless. Eternal.

I know I'm waxing lyrical and I know it's nonsense. I don't claim to know the first thing about art, but there's just something about this that makes me want to share it with you all~

I wish you all a peaceful, beautiful and blessed 2014 x