Nature Inspired Art & Music Appreciation ~ May

Spring is here on the island finally! The temperatures keep going up and then back down, but nature keeps on waking up and it's wonderful to notice the flowers, green leaves, birds and insects all around us. 

This past month, my selection for art and music appreciation were all about spring. 

I chose a painting by John William Waterhouse called "Ophelia". 

Ophelia is a fictional character from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. J.W. Waterhouse painted this oil painting in 1889. He also did other paintings of Ophelia, the most popular one is this one, which he painted in 1894. 

I prefer the one I chose, I love the colours, the dark woods in the background and the brightness of her dress. I like that she is lying in the field with the wildflowers around her and the birds flying nearby. John William Waterhouse is well known for his "Lady of Shallot' painting and you might remember the connection with Anne of Green Gables.

Ophelia by J.W. Waterhouse

For my music selection in May, I listened to Frederic Chopin's "Raindrops", Prelude, Op.28, No.15. This is one of his 24 Prelude pieces. I thought it was well suited for this time of year. I also really enjoyed reading the story about this piece on Wikipedia. 



I continue to enjoy my little art and music appreciation each month. It's a really nice habit now, to sit and listen to a music piece several times a week and to see the painting each day. I always set the painting as my desktop image. 
Here are the previous months: January February March April