Category Archives: Reading Thoreau

Reading Thoreau, Eau Claire Dells, WI

This picture was my husband, Matt’s, idea.  He took me to the Eau Claire Dells as a surprise and suggested that I paint a picture of a person reading Thoreau amidst the rocks and rapids.  So, I asked him to pose for it.  It’s a beautiful place.  I’d never even heard of it, which is incredible considering I’ve lived in Wisconsin for almost forty years.  Matt knows all the back roads though.

Here is a selection of what he may be reading:

“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.”

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”

“The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.”

…and my favorite:

“There is no remedy for love, but to love more.”

Reading Thoreau, Eau Claire Dells, WI, oil on canvas, 11×14, Artist’s Collection

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