Pablo Picasso once said, “The purpose of art is to wash the dust of daily life off our souls.” Yesterday, we cleansed our souls and met some friends at our favourite little art show called “Art amongst the ruins” in Newburgh, Ontario.

It was the perfect day to stroll through the amazing grounds (the ruins are from a former mill on the property) and admire the beautiful pieces of art.

I am not the most artistic person in the world, but I love looking at art, seeing the textures and hues on the canvas and thinking about the images and emotions the artist was trying to portray and understanding the emotions it evokes in the soul.

A few years ago at this same show, one of the artists invited Clare to paint his picture for him. I have a wonderful picture of her sitting at his easel. He was a pointillist and he showed Clare the technique of using tiny dots to create images that blend together into a bold, beautiful image.

I watched Clare yesterday afternoon paint a picture for her bus driver. She chose a white canvas and painted simple green stems, and glued real flower petals. I’m glad at least one member of our family has some natural artistic flair.

This week’s #HappyAct is to spend a morning or afternoon at an art show or gallery. Maybe even pick up a brush yourself and wash off some dust from your soul. After all, it was Vincent Van Gogh who said, “If you hear a voice within you that says, ‘you cannot paint”, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Here are some of my favourite pieces from yesterday.