jim henson

Today's Art and Beauty Tuesday is Back to School by Igor Babailov.  Babailov is a contemporary American artist featured on the Art Renewal Center's website as a Living Master.

This work shows  a pensive girl, perhaps dressed in a uniform, ready for her first day back at school.  She is probably wondering how the year will be, if she will make friends and if she will like her teachers.  Her face shows a quiet hopefulness that often pervades the coming of Autumn.

I like how her face is bathed in light, even though the rest of the portrait is in darkness.  Youth, childhood and education combine to give her hope and light.