Artists I Would Like to Have Met

There are so many artists that I would like to have met. These are some of them:

Vincent Van Gogh. I'm enthralled with the idea that he could complete an entire painting within an hour. To work at that speed and execute the work so beautifully is an incredible feat. This concept is especially mind-blowing in regards to portraits, which are notoriously difficult. How was this possible?

John Singer Sargent. I would be humbled in his presence. His portraits are amazing: the life he infused in his sitters' eyes, the luminous flesh tones he achieved, the breathtakingly subtle lighting. His work moves me like no other artist.

Jackson Pollock. His later works, specifically the splatter paintings, are incredible in their layers of color and texture. His are among the few paintings that I consistently defy museum rules over by running my fingers lightly over their surface when the docents turn their heads (I know this is very bad). I can't help it. They beg to be touched.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir. His pinks and his reds are startling and life just vibrates throughout his works. While many works have a calming effect on me, Renoir's make me positively giddy.

Claude Monet. How could I not like an artist who couldn't let go of a subject until he had painted it to death? Having the compulsion to paint the same scene repeatedly, sometimes literally hundreds of times under varying conditions, is a man of my own heart. A little OCD can make for a compelling body of work.

Beautiful works by mind-bogglingly talented artists, every one of them.