Back from the Western Massachusetts Berkshire Mountain area, which is a very pretty place. We had crappy weather, but the resort unit was like living in a condo with two bedrooms and baths, a livingroom and full kitchen, plus an indoor pool and the largest outdoor whirlpool I ever saw. The whirlpool is very popular during Ski Season, I'm sure.
The highlight of the trip was the Norman Rockwell Museum, photo below. This man's talent really takes you places. First you take a trip through the 20th Century of American Life that Rockwell captured from 1916 when he published his first cover illustration in the Saturday Evening Post up until shortly before his death in 1976. You also go to another place caught up in the amazing detail and beauty of his art. 200,000 people visit the Norman Rockwell Museum every year. That's incredible.
Rockwell adhered to a strict process with each painting, doing a complete sketch that contained every detail of the final work. I didn't know that. I also didn't realize how HUGE a lot of Rockwell's paintings were. They weren't magazine cover size, that's for sure.
What struck me most about Rockwell was that he always said he was an illustrator. He never claimed to be an artist or a painter. He'd say he was simply an illustrator who told stories. That's what he loved to do, and he was true to that throughout his entire life. There's a real lesson in Rockwell's life and art, knowing what it is we really want to do and following it like Normal Rockwell did, and not being defined by anyone but ourselves.
It wouldn't be a New England vacation (or ordinary Vermont weekend, for that matter) without some hiking, here on a trail at Greylock State Park. As I said, the weather overall was pretty crappy, so I didn't take many pictures. There are a few more Greylock pics in my Photo Gallery. Use the Berkshire Mountain Weekend dropdown -- I really need to add an album permalink!
