The Feet see Gauguin in Seattle

Big day yesterday for the Feet and Forks! We took the ferry to Seattle and saw "Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise,"  a new exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum.

From the windy ferry deck, we watched Seattle emerge on the horizon, as blue as the sky and the water.

I see an abstract possibility here, looking down from the ferry.

The Feet hoofed it along Alaskan Way to Starbucks, stopping for a photo op with the big stuffed Elliott the Otter. Then it was up the loooong staircase and hills to the museum.

"Tahitian Women (On the Beach)," 1891, Paul Gauguin

Photography wasn't allowed in the Gauguin exhibit, but here's one of the paintings we saw (above). Paul Gauguin, one of the leading French Postimpressionists of the late 1800s, did this oil painting shortly after moving to Tahiti, a period when he increasingly sought expressiveness through COLOR. (My kind of artist!)

Self portrait, 1888, Paul Gauguin

I was struck by the pensiveness of the expressions on his subjects and I couldn't help noticing that they never seemed to be looking at one another. They seemed disconnected from each other and their "paradise." Maybe this was intentional -- I don't know enough about Gauguin to answer that one. Do any of you know?

The exhibit runs through April 29. It includes about 60 of Gauguin's paintings, sculptures and works on paper, most of them brilliantly hued.

Moving on to the the Abstract Expressionist gallery (my favorite period), I pondered the deep meaning of "The Blackboard," 1961, by Conrad Marca-Relli. I decided that the meaning didn't matter to me -- I just liked the large scale, the puzzle-like shapes and the raw edges. Even though it was gray (shudder), I still was attracted to it. It reminded me of textile collage and of farmland seen from an airplane.

Above is a Marc Rothko painting, also from the Abstract Expressionist gallery. I think I'd really like a painting using Rothko and Gauguin's colors but the shapes from "The Blackboard." (Note to self: Possible art quilt.)

Below is a variety of glass art in another gallery.

Then the Feet moved on to The Wild Ginger, where we earned the Forks part of our name. The empty dessert plate had a delicious piece of dense, flourless chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and pieces of toffee!!!

Even though we were stuffed, we somehow ended up minutes later in Pike's Place Market at Beecher's eating free artisan cheese samples.

Then we rolled across the street and made a beeline for the donut machine, which dispenses hot little donuts that melt in your mouth. We got a bag and shared them while sipping free tea samples from the tea shop.

The vegetable and fruit displays in Pike's Place looked as luscious as any Gauguin painting.

Touristy sidewalk display on Alaskan Way.

Back down on Alaskan Way, the other Feet and Forks went to the fudge shop while I got my second iced decaf nonfat no-whip mocha of the day at Starbucks. Then we hustled onto a packed rush-hour ferry for the ride back home.

Our seagull escort home.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your little outing with the Feet and Forks in the great Pacific Northwest.

Have a colorful day