National Gallery of Canada

As part of one of my 2015 new year's resolutions, I visited the National Gallery of Canada.
John had come to visit and mentioned that the gallery as well as other museums in Ottawa were free on Thursdays after 5pm.

I was especially excited once I heard they had coat check, as it's been so dreadfully cold lately, I haven't been able to dress nicely without having to cover it up with many many layers.

Staring seriously at some serious art

I was pretty torn between wanting photos of my outfit as well as hogging the camera to capture all my favourite pieces of art.

why not have both?

surrounded by art

We started with Contemporary Art, which was a lot of fun.  Sometimes (a lot of the times) I didn't really know what I was looking at. And I’m not going to pretend to be super-cultured and knowledgeable about art or art history, but I knew that looking at different pieces invoked different emotions, and those that made me feel strongly were the ones that I gravitated towards.

This one, for example, made me really dizzy.

you are getting sleeeeepy

I know I sounded like a child the whole time, repeating “ooo pretty” and “I like the colours”, but look at all the pretty colours!  This one below was my first favourite.

so pretty

derping around

What I like about this one is that looking at different sections up close versus standing back and looking at it as a whole gives off different vibes.  If I had an apartment, I could see one entire wall painted in this style.

Downstairs was the section on Inuit art and this piece stood out above all the others.  The amount of intricate detailing that went into the carving of the antlers is astounding.  

carved antlers

It was hard to try to capture the piece in its entirety as well as showcase the little details – I regret not taking some close-ups because the little animals (sled dogs, seals, polar bears) were so cute.

The gallery itself was very beautiful, and the center sections were also unique. There were a couple of people just sitting with a sketchbook or laptop in this greenhouse area and it felt like a different world.

Similarly, the sitting by fountain was incredibly calming and there was soothing music overhead as well.

John pondering the meaning of life

Upstairs was International Art, which included Renaissance art.  I liked the Italian ones best as they depicted stories I was familiar with, such as those from Roman mythology.

we had this room all to ourselves

The amount of detail goes down to the ornate frames the paintings are in.

The tiny flower petals on this statue are beyond impressive.

We must've taken a wrong turn because immediately following the paintings of Venus, we saw this:

...which was impressive in its own way. John said to stare at either the red or the blue (for about 30 seconds) and then switch to the other and that "something magical" will appear.  He swears he saw something but it just made me really dizzy.

I wish we had more than 3 hours as we really had to rush at the end through the M.C. Escher exhibit and his stuff is definitely art you want to be able to marvel at for a long time.

As another part of my new year's resolutions, I'm trying to better integrate photography into my everyday life.  I've realized that it gets quite hard in this weather and being car-less in Ottawa to make special trips specifically for photography, and I find myself getting tired and feeling guilty and pressured.  I want to keep the fun feelings that come with taking photos.  So for now, the focus will be shifting towards doing different things, such as visiting museums or trying new restaurants, and bring my camera along, rather than planning photoshoots.  As the weather gets better, I do hope to have photoshoots again as I've already accumulated a number of ideas in mind.

Thanks for reading!