I had a standing morning obligation last week cancel, and the timing was perfect. The weather was gorgeous, so I headed to Dixon Gallery and Gardens. I started in the garden and painted first. I've been enjoying exploring their statuary in its natural surroundings -- a nice contrast between nature and man-made.

Then I headed inside to see the new Rembrandt to Rubens exhibit. As is always the case with smaller museum collections, there was a great deal of up and down in the quality, but the Speed has some lovely pieces that are visiting us just now. Aside from the stunning Rembrandt and Rubens of the title, they have an exquisite Pieter Claesz breakfast still life. Claesz is one of my favorites of the Dutch painters, a fondness dating back to my college art history classes, where I fell in love with the still life genre in general. There was also a quite lovely Van Ruisdel landscape. The Dutch pieces were definitely my favorites in the exhibit, but it's an interesting show and well worth seeing.