I thought I had one more day to get my blog done, but apparently not, Tell me a Story goes live in the morning. Family vacations are fun, and one of the things I wanted to do while we were in Tampa, South Florida, was to head to the Salvador Dali museum. I honesty did not see it happening, but Amy said she was keen to go, and Kathryn wanted to go as well, so we made a trip of it.

I love Dali’s artwork that goes without saying, but what I had seen from researching the venue was the incredible architecture of the building. I could not wait to get inside and see what there was to see.

Just a heads up if you are visiting, and plan to take photographs. Limit yourself to your camera and 1 lens. They do not allow backpacks in the premises. You have to leave them in your car, or put them in a locker. I understand they are worried about things going missing but to be honest the artwork was not going to fit into my camera bag, and I was not happy that I was expected to leave a $800 camera lens in the car. Fortunately Amy had a diaper bag and I could leave my lens inside there but remember that if you are visiting.

Immediately I am so impressed with the structure of the building, and the lattice type effect of the huge dome window. The internal staircase was amazing. What you are seeing above is the tip of the staircase

The sign next to the cracked effect of the window said the following: “Photographer Lee Miller broke boundaries of convention, technique and decorum to help shape the understanding of our own human possibilities. Our enigma glass is “broken” in her honor. How might you break boundaries?

Salvador Dali was born in Figueres, Spain in 1904, and lived both in Spain and in the USA. I have always know Dali for his abstract work, and love his art, but I did not know that he also was influenced by the Impressionist era as seen above, and at a later stage Catholicism. Below are two of my favorite abstracts.

The above image was titled “Portrait of my dead brother”. What fascinated me is how he created the image using dots and such interesting shapes. From what I read Dali had hope that the mysteries of religion would be revealed through physics and molecular biology. This image is one of the large canvases that he created. To see this in full size is incredible.

Below is a stunning image of a Woman looking out on a sunny day. The title to the artwork says the following ” Gala contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Meters becomes the portrait of Abraham Lincoln – Homage to Rothko (Second Version). When I look at the image in a small version I see Abraham Lincoln perfectly. When I look at this image I see Gala contemplating the Mediterranean Sea.

Below are two more abstract paintings that appealed to me. The first image is titled “Oeufs sur le Plat sans le Plat” (Eggs on the plate without the plate). The second is titled “Enchanted Beach with Three Fluid Graces. That particular painting really appeals to me.

As I mentioned earlier Dali was influenced by Catholicism, and the was apparent in some of his images. Below the image is titled “Galacidalacidesoxiribunucleicacid” (Homage to Crick and Watson).

Below this image is titled “The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

There are so many more images and I did not do justice to his famous image “The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory. Go look it up – it is a stunning piece in my mind, and often reminds me of the Pink Floyd some “Time”.

Below I spent some time looking at different angles of this incredible structure before we headed outside to view the Garden.

I loved the different angles and shapes and reflections I could see in each setting. The dome type effect just fascinated me.

The artwork above was titled “Christ of St. John of the Cross”.

The we were back inside at the base of the staircase and I managed to get these last two images before we headed out. I love spiraling staircases and the effect that this had was amazing.

Lastly we snapped a shot of Cody in the gardens. Kathryn struggles with serious arthritis, and Cody is her service dog. He does an amazing job of being there for her to help her along the way. A silent disease like arthritis sometimes has people looking at you and asking what is wrong, why do you need a service dog, why do you need a wheelchair? Like many others Kathryn has good days and bad days, and we are grateful that Cody is there to assist her.

If you are heading to the Tampa area in South Florida, I would encourage you to take some time to visit the museum. Just remember no backpacks, or you are going to be as unhappy as I was heading in.

Thank you for joining me this month.  This is a circle blog so take some time to view what the other artist has for you this month. My friend Arthur of Lupji Photography is up next. I look forward to reading what he has to share.