The Value of A Painting

      This painting is by my friend Maria Bennett Hock.  She first came to my attention because of her portraits and I have followed her career for a few years now.
     She sent this painting to me as a gift . A random act of kindness as she calls it.
     I opened the package and was thrilled. Holding original art in your hands is a personal and transformative experience.  The original work always looks better in real life and it breathes as you touch it. You can feel the person who brought  life into this illusion.
    So how does this relate to value?

      Usually when I am talking about value I am talking about how light or dark a painting is. But the other meaning of the word value is in part economic and also about emotion.

    I have read books about behavior that say we humans love to get things for free but that  we  do not necessarily value them. I suppose this is true in laboratory studies, but art and friendship have a different value that is priceless.
     Receiving this painting is an experience I will never forget and now it is part of my permanent collection. It will influence me in the studio and become part of the art that is made here.
     Thank you Maria for your friendship and for this gift.

What I have learned so far?
Art heals!