Art Explained by a Writer: An Idyll (1906)
Every now and then, I think of the time we first met. You looked attractive, and the best part was that you made me laugh with that Zorro cape and your hat. We thought we owned the world and could colour it with just a few kisses. It didn't matter where we were. The most dilapidated neighborhood was our paradise. We had no doubt that things would get better.
Once in a while I think back to our only holiday at Åsgårdstrand. Looking back, it wasn't much to look at. The weather was depressingly bad, there were no tourists, and the only person we met was the taciturn man who nudged us with his stick and then pointed to his boat. Should we have accepted his offer? Should we have gone out to sea in that rickety thing?
We laughed at the old man and his dilapidated boat back then, but sometimes I think it would have been better to spend our last money on that trip. At least then there would have been the memory.
That oil portrait of me that you painted on a panel may seem idyllic to the viewer, but the truth is that what is seen only exists in the eyes of the beholder, those who still believe in illusions.
Painter: Hans Olaf Halvor Heyerdahl
Paintings: Ved vinduet (the woman at the window is Maren Christine Heyerdahl (1854–1931), the artist's first wife), An Idyll (1906) and Fra Åsgårdstrand (1887)
6-4-2026
The contest Art & Writing is hosted by @solperez.
Sometimes I think we should do crazy things so we can feel they were worthwhile, especially when we can no longer do them. I loved reading your work.
Me gusta cómo lograste enlazar las tres obras en una historia, en la que se cuenta una historia de amor, un paseo y luego un recuerdo de los momentos vividos. A veces creo que debemos hacer más locuras para luego sentir que ha valido la pena vivirlas, sobre todo cuando ya no las podamos hacer. Me encantó leerte.
The result is a look back on life. In this case, a life wasted, opportunities never seized and that will never return. Thinking that such an opportunity will still come along is probably the most common thought, along with: ‘I’ll do all that later’. Many of us are also stingy when it comes to spending money on ourselves to enjoy new experiences. Even if it’s a ramshackle boat on a bleak day and you’re freezing with wet feet, even then that memory is one you’ll later treasure and perhaps laugh out loud about.
I think, at the end of the day, ordinary people are brought up to believe that it’s wrong to have fun and that it’s wiser to save for later. But what if there is no ‘later’?
Thank you for reading. Have a day full of adventures!
El resultado es una mirada retrospectiva a la vida. En este caso, una vida perdida, oportunidades que nunca aprovechó y que nunca volverán. Pensar que esa oportunidad aún llegará es probablemente el pensamiento más común, junto con: «Más adelante haré todo eso». Muchos de nosotros también somos tacaños a la hora de gastarnos dinero en nosotros mismos para vivir nuevas experiencias. Incluso si se trata de un barco destartalado en un día desolador y te estás congelando con los pies mojados, incluso así ese recuerdo es uno que más tarde atesorarás y del que quizás te rías a carcajadas.
Creo que, a fin de cuentas, a la gente normal se le educa con la idea de que está mal divertirse y que es más sensato ahorrar para más adelante. Pero, ¿y si no hay un «más adelante»?
Gracias por leerme. ¡Que tengáis un día lleno de aventuras!
❤️🍀
Most children were raised to think about the future and to control their desires. And I say "raised" because now we've raised this generation of young people with the idea that "Simply existing makes them entitled to everything they want." So they seem like "kings with magic wands" whose every whim their parents must indulge. We've gone from one extreme to the other, haha. Cheers.
Totalmente de acuerdo contigo. A la mayoría de los niños los formaban para que pensaran en el mañana, y para que controlaran sus deseos. Y digo: "Los formaban", porque ahora hemos formado a esta generación de jóvenes con la idea de que "El solo existir los hace merecedores de todo lo que desean". De modo que parecen "reyes con varitas mágicas" a quienes los padres deben complacer todos sus antojos. Así, hemos pasado de un extremo a otro, jeje. Saludos.
That's true. For some reason most parents must have thought that their own childhood was a burden and their children don't need any skills,no savings or burdens to learn how to conquer life.
I always love Kitty's take on the work of art.
Beautiful write ups, there is nothing as sweet as sharing good memories even in the worst set of places, such memories can’t be forgotten and it will be cherished for life.
I am not too sure if this is the case since she is divorced and they never took that boat for a trip.
I wouldn't go out to the sea with that boat. It looks like it would sink
Who knows that was the plan or at least the thought. Imagine he fell over board and drowned. At least she wouldn't be dumped.
A Titanic kind of ending would be more romantic like Jack and Rose
Memories are ambiguous... some people keep them in their hearts, while others live exclusively in the present...
It’s also an art to live solely in the present. I think that even if you never look back on the past or pause to reflect on fond memories, they still play a major role in who you are now and how you act.
I’m glad I can still remember people and things. Especially when someone got in touch with me again years later and I knew straight away who it was.