Quiet At Fishtown

674 Words3 Pages
A Getaway in Watercolor Every year since I can remember my family and I took a week vacation to our favorite Michigan getaway, Traverse City. My family and I packed up our van and drove the four hours to our destination. We planned two stops along the way; one to the Horizon Outlets for some cheap shopping, and one to the Fudge Factory for some delicious desserts. During our week of vacationing we travel to a small town called Leland which is located on a sliver of land between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau. Once in Leland, the main attraction is Fishtown, a small shopping district which includes shops, a museum, restaurants and galleries. There is also a full service fishing marina that is still in service today. This 140 year old fishing village includes docks and shanties that are more than 100 years old reminding visitors of the importance of commercial fishing in this area. When John Constable was asked what beautiful was he said, “I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.” When being asked what I thought beautiful was I said, "Something or someone who catches the human eye." What does the Webster’s dictionary say? Beautiful is anything that is generally pleasing or has qualities that possess exciting aesthetic pleasure. The New York Times stated that the poet Rainer Marie Rilke's observation and critic on Higdon was that his watercolors "are as confident as his paintings, and as light as the paintings are heavy." The painting, Quiet at Fishtown can be described as beautiful. Quiet at Fishtown is a painting of a small part of Leland by Randall Higdon. Randall Higdon may not be a famous artist, and many may not be able to identify with him, but I do. "Simplicity is a characteristic in the majority of my paintings. I enjoy the physical act of
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