Auburn In The Rain – Toomer’s Art

Description

Auburn has been a favorite subject for my art lately. In good part, I suspect that’s nostalgia driven. We often hit moments in life where it’s easier to live in the past than the present and even when that’s not the case, our vision of the past is often rose colored. But whether the past is picture perfect or not, my years in Auburn were definitely among my happier ones. Fledgling steps away from home and friends that I have held onto every since. And I’m sure many who have gone to Auburn University can say the same. And I say that despite not finishing the degree I was working on there. Life had other plans as it often does!

That partially explains the subject in this rainy evening artwork being an Auburn landmark, Toomer’s Corner. The rest of the inspiration was actually received in an email from someone who follows my work. She was quite taken with my depiction of Dublin in the rain from earlier this year. And she hoped I would do something similar featuring Auburn. These rainy art scenes are still rather new to me and it was a thought that honestly hadn’t crossed my mind. But once it did, I was off to the races. I knew immediately the subject would be Toomer’s Corner. Even though I’ve already done an art print featuring Toomer’s. One wasn’t enough anymore!

I’m so glad the suggestion was made! And I always welcome suggestions. I can’t say that everyone of them will be something I do the next day but I do file them all away for later. Sometimes the inspiration is immediate. Other times the ideas percolate away in some dark corner of my mind before it comes into focus. In this case, I had pretty much this scene in mind from the start. I wanted to show the street lights and buildings on Toomer’s Corner in Auburn reflecting on themselves.

For me, there’s a tranquility in these. And I’ve had more than one person comment that my rainy prints in general have a cheerful sense to them even if you might normally associate rain with being a bit down. I think for me the rain is more in the literary sense. I recall a long ago English class where the professor explained how water and rain are often used as literary devices for a turning point in the story where the protagonist washes away their old self and the story moves onward. Sure enough I’ve seen that same plot device used in films throughout the years and always think of Dr. Norton. To me this is a renewing rain. Everything is clean and new again on this little mythical corner in Auburn.

So I would love if you took a moment and shared what this Auburn art print means to you? I’ve had some on social media say it reminded them of dodging rain drops on the way to class in Auburn. And I can well remember that, too. Some who have never experienced the Loveliest Village On The Plains simply loved it for the beauty of the moment I captured. But I always love to hear what captures the attention of each individual. So do leave a comment or drop me a note!