Why is it that I feel the need to perform? Take my art, for example, I want to be recognized! I would like to be known as a good artist. I never feel it is enough to draw or paint just for the fun of it.

I read that when someone once asked a medieval craftsman why he spends hours on stonework high up in the cathedral, when it is unlikely anybody will ever see it. He can just do a quick job and be finished with it. But his answer was:”I will know…and God will know.”

I want to be in a place in my life where it will be enough if I know.

I visited the Louvre museum today. That is what triggered this line of thought. There are thousands of artworks from ancient times onward. Lots of breathtaking art from unknown or little known artists.

I too should be satisfied by just doing my best.

I am more open to art at the moment than ever before in my life. I can sit in front of almost any work of art and just enjoy it for what it is.

In the past I shied away from rooms with dark paintings of the eighteenth and seventeenth century. Today I really enjoy them and I discovered some incredible artists and their art. Maybe it is because, for once, I know I have time to enjoy it all.

Of course I enjoyed some old favourites as well … the Da Vinci, beautiful Madonna on the Rocks (for some reason that title always makes me think of a cocktail!), Rembrandt and the ancient Greek statues (especially the Winged Victory). Do not forget the “dark” Middle Ages which gave us some of our most beautiful artworks.

Art that got to me today was one of a little angel trying to feed a butterfly.

I walked more than ten kilometers today in the Louvre. It was incredible. My head is full of art. I am so happy.

The evening  concert was again in Sante Chapelle. The delicate building reminds me of an old fashioned music box. Our music tonight was more popular music. A bit of a TT (tourist trap) but in the end it was beautiful. As my friend Charl would say: “There is a reason why some music is popular: Because it is beautiful.”

It made me nostalgic, thinking back to my childhood years, with a box set of Readers Digest l.p. records my dad used to play on Sunday morning.

The encore was the beautiful Death and the maiden song by Schubert. Soprano Cecile Benard’s voice is ideal for lieder.