Beauty

What is it? How do you define it? More importantly, how do you capture it with a paint brush?

A couple of weeks ago, Julia, my studio mate, wrote a saying on our studio wall. Just above our coat closet written in charcoal and large letters, it says, "le laid peut être beau, le joli jamais-- Paul Gauguin". Roughly translated, it means "the ugly can be beautiful, but the cute can never be."

This (and listening to Bo Bartlett last week) has me thinking. I don't want to paint cute. I know that. But to be honest, I'm worried I can't paint what matters. And if I can't paint what matters, why paint?

I know I'll figure it out (maybe), but meanwhile I'm a bit flummoxed. Any ideas?