Joan Mitchell's blues
Remembering the great artist on her birthday
Thinking of the artist Joan Mitchell on her birthday. Above is a little homage to her, performed at the Cartier Foundation in Paris. Tony Shanahan and I saluted with a bit of good natured stumbling, her exquisite use of the color blue.
It may snow tonight, as we hope for in February. I am turning in early tonight. Good wishes for the best of blue dreams.
Patti, this version of Blue Moon absolutely floored me. My dear friend and brother Joel, loved this song immensely and he proudly claimed it as his favorite. He was an old soul and religiously listened to the "oldies" (Classic 600 AM) station in Kalispell, Montana, where we grew up together.
In 2007, he died in a plane crash at the age of 25. And at his service, the church band played Blue Moon.
Thank you for sharing your version, Joan's art (and love of blue) and kind wishes of sweet dreams. You brought a smile to my heart and a memory of Joel.
Here's a recent and excellent introduction to Joan Mitchell's art in the Observer, by Dian Parker. Dian draws particular attention to Mitchell's affinity for poetry and poetic form as an influence, John O'hara's poems for one: "Mitchell often talked about how poetry was the foundational force in her paintings. She was aware of rhythm and pauses, like line breaks and white space in poetry."
https://observer.com/2023/11/joan-mitchell-exhibitions-2023/