Art Gateways

I've never done a weekend assignment from John Scalzi  By The Way so this is my first attempt. I'm usually pretty bad at boxed assignments or guidelines, so this of course will be my own take on the assignment.........I couldn't resist the topic, one of my favorites, Artwork.
        Weekend Assignment #50: Tell us about an artwork -- painting, sculpture or other visual work -- which had a significant impact on you. Note this doesn't have to be your "favorite" piece of art, or the one you like the most (although it can be, if you want): I'm looking for the work that made you think, or affected you in an unexpected way.
Extra Credit: Assuming money was no object, how much would you spend on a piece of art?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         Can you feel that? Strokes of imagination,  inspiration and emotion. This is what Artwork represents to me. An emotion or feeling of being transported to a world in the artists mind. Sometimes it's a transport into my own mind, a picture, or impression, throws open a door inside this world called my mind, and my thoughts are off and spinning.
      
       There are moments I look into a picture and feel a sensation of great emotion. One of my favorite pictures out there by the brilliant James C. Christensen, evokes emotions within me I cannot even express from my own vault of words. It's called Sleeper of Lost Dreams. I think the title explains it well enough.

  It is the type of artwork that I can get lost in thought staring at. This picture tosses open that door of emotion and feeling for me. The significance of this picture resonates within myself as symbolic of my many missing pieces in my own consciousness. Artwork which shows a reflection of mind is what draws me to it's canvas.

       Interpretation is personal and different for anyone who takes the time to really look. Someone else could look at this picture and think of their own God and angels. Another could look at this picture and simply see a broken angel. The individual mind can produce such unique and whole impressions of something that cannot be compared to another.
      
       Thats the beauty of Artwork. There is no wrong impression, there is no one answer, much like life itself. It's the art of being open to all impressions and possibilities. That is the beautiful thing about the often ignored concept of free thought and expression.

     I find art in all mediums extraordinary. Be it paintings, a photograph, a child's drawn stick figures, or the ever glorious master artist, Mother Nature herself. Always meant to evoke a pause from humanity, Artwork is the form that which creative process can move uncensored.

       Everyone needs a touch of inspiration on the shoulder. For those time's when weaknesses and life start to feel like the weight of the moon on your mind, open a book, go to a gallery, step outside. It's that easy.

This last piece of Artwork is also by the gifted James C. Christensen.

The title: Sometimes the Spirit Touches us Through Our Weakness.

As for the extra credit, what wouldn't I pay, to own these moments in time someone once dreamed of.

I've always thought, and perhaps this is a quote somewhere I'm slightly stealing from, but an artist's brush is the gateway into exploration of other worlds, so go forth, explore, discover. The mind is always hungry for beauty in this world.