Canada's National Gallery | Ottawa | by Eileen Hennemann

We are members of the National Gallery and take every opportunity we can to visit it throughout the year. I've discovered that revisiting favourites time and time again is therapeutic. It also makes me stop and look at other paintings that I may not have noticed before.

So, I ask myself … why now? Why does this painting suddenly want my attention? I can only figure that the more I look at different artists and different content do I let myself appreciate what's involved in their creation. Yes, I am an artist and I acknowledge that it is a solitary experience when I paint. I have my own, often unexplainable reasons for doing that painting. and I understand more often now my fellow artists' reasons as well.

You don't need to be an artist to experience art. You just need curiosity. Perhaps an appreciation of the journey, regardless if you like the piece or not. Hopefully a connection clicks. You become more interested in what's involved and your emotional reaction to what you're looking at.

I took many photos while at the Gallery, some of which I've taken several times before - I can't help myself! The Salon Wall has a painting by one of our local artists as well. Imagine that - an artist who lived in Almonte in the National Gallery! I hope you have a chance to visit the gallery soon. It's such an enriching, and often very moving, experience. https://www.gallery.ca/ ~ Eileen Hennemann