Norman Rockwell's inspiration

On Saturday night the village of Succotz had a community celebration on the soccer field across the street from us until the wee hours of the morning.  As part of the celebration, music was played over loud speakers for all to hear.  When I had enough music from the celebration, I turned on some music in my room from the Tabernacle Choir found on this link.  When I tuned in, Music and the Spoken Word program was playing.

As part of the program Lloyd Newell told this story titled "A Painter's Perseverance" that inspired me.  That painter would be Norman Rockwell

"Triple Self-Portrait"

A Painter's Perseverance

The famous artist Norman Rockwell painted hundreds of magazine covers during his lifetime. But he didn’t just paint life, he lived it. He knew success and failure, joy and sorrow—just as we all do. 

Early in his career, he learned to keep trying, even when he didn’t feel like he could. Once, when the Saturday Evening Post rejected a cover illustration he had painted, he felt like giving up. But he remembered something he read in a book: “If you fall on your face, don’t lie there and moan, get up.” 

So he did just that. He went directly to the barbershop, climbed into a chair, and said to the barber, “Give me everything you’ve got.” After a shave, a haircut, a shoeshine, and whatever else was offered, he rose from the chair a new man. He walked briskly, chin up and chest out, to the offices of another magazine, where he sold the painting. The next morning he started a new cover for the Saturday Evening Post.

He would go on to paint more than 300 covers for the Post, each portraying commonplace life and lasting values. He told stories with his brush and paint that have influenced generations. His painting of daily life could bring a tear, a smile, and a comforting reassurance that we all have common hopes, dreams, and experiences. 

Norman Rockwell’s autobiography ends with these words: 

“I get up early every morning. I’m at work by eight. . . . I realized a long time ago that I’ll never be as good as Rembrandt. 

“I think my work is improving. I start each picture with the same high hopes, and if I never seem able to fulfill them I still try my darnedest.

“. . . Somebody once asked Picasso, ‘Of all the pictures you’ve done, which is your favorite?’ ‘The next one,’ he replied.”

Norman Rockwell died at age 84 with an unfinished painting on his easel.

Below are some his his most famous painting that I got from this website.

"Freedom From Want"

"Saying Grace"

"Golden Rule"

"The Runaway"