(no subject)

So today my parents came to visit. Mom hadn't seen my new place yet, and she was so curious she could barely sit still... lol. Of course she had about three thousand decorating ideas all at once, and if I wanted to use them all, the apartment would turn into one huge Christmas tree.:P But they did bring me the nice big potted plant that used to stand in my bedroom over at their house. It'll have much more room to grow here, and it looks great filling that empty corner by the window, right next to the wicker chair (it's an evergreen with a huge canopy of long, slim branches growing very close to each other, overlapping and sloping down, almost like palm leaves). I just hope I won't kill it by accident, because I'm simply not too good with plants.:/

We also went to see my sister's and her husband's art studio, which happens to be located about two blocks from my new apartment. In case I haven't mentioned this before, they are both oil painters, and are just finishing their new pieces for an upcoming exhibition. My sister's painting is beautiful. It's a portrait of a cute, pouting little girl with windblown angelic locks, holding a wicker basket with a single red apple. The girl's clothes are very traditional, 19th century I guess, and the background is a mysterious late autumn forest with bare branches and pale, drooping flowers. The atmosphere of the whole piece is melancholy and very poignant somehow, as though there was something lurking in the shadows that the viewer can't see or identify, but the little girl already knows. She doesn't look scared though - just sad and regretful, and maybe a little lost. It's a haunting piece. We were all gushing over it to no end, and we all agreed it's probably the best thing she's done so far. I hope it gets appreciated by international gallery owners/sponsors as well, and earns her some much-deserved recognition. She really has a lot of artistic potential, and I'm not just saying that because she's my sister. She only needs to let more of her own soul shine through her work, instead of trying to paint as much like her husband as possible. She is intensely fascinated with him, and sure enough, there are reasons for that; but you can only follow someone else's example up to a certain point if you want to become a successful artist. You need to find your own way; and it seems that's exactly what she is trying to do right now. I have a feeling that her style is going to mature and crystallize over the next few years, and it's going to be amazing. I'll keep my fingers crossed for that to happen, and when she gets really famous, I'll tell you folks who she is.:P