A Fair Day

I went to the OC fair today and it was lovely. We ate tons of yummy food, looked at all the animals, vegetables, flowers, crafts, art, people, and whatever else there was. It was a super fun time to hang with the family.

I was excited to go into the arts building. Photography and paintings and what nots. It. was. awesome. There were almost too many things to look at. I thought I had almost finished going through the photography(I found out later that I skipped a whole section) and my family said they were going to move on to something else so I stuck around by myself. I still had the whole other half of the building to walk through... I continued checking out the beautiful photos and moved onto the paintings. I don't think I have been so moved by so many paintings in one sitting. It was overwhelming. So many beautiful things to look at, guess the meaning of, and connect with. One artist had a whole exhibit with lots of cool stuff. It's hard to explain what exact media he uses because it was a bunch of stuff. But it was shiny and colorful. One of his was called "Before the Kiss" or something to that extent and it was all about the emotions felt right before you kiss someone special. And I totally felt it while looking at his artwork! It was so cool.

Another painting showed a young boy who was a child soldier in Africa(can't remember what country, I fail). I stared into his young, frightened eyes, noticing the gun hanging by his side and I was brought to tears. It was a powerful piece.
Many others captured so much beauty, mystery, experience, wonder... It's hard to explain completely the way it all made me feel.

One more painting that I liked was of a cartoon-looking robot pressing a syringe into its cracked heart. He had a sad face and there was red paint splashed behind him and even on the frame. Its title was "Not Everything Has a Remedy". It was a cool take on "brokenheartedness" and how people try to heal it.

The thing I love about art is that there are normally layers to it. There might be the initial portrayal of a certain idea or scene, but oftentimes if you look beyond that, you'll find something else and it will hit home with you somehow. I love how art can make me feel beauty and love but also heartbreak and fear. It's amazing to me that a person can portray those emotions onto paper, canvas, wood, etc without using any words.

I want to go back to the fair just to walk around again and study the pictures for even longer. And maybe get a fried oreo or something.