The Art of Companionship: How Art Connects Us

Vuillard once said so much by leaving things unsaid. This PiP tribute captures the quiet beauty and mystery of everyday moments. A reminder that art doesn’t need to shout to move us.

The Ritual of Visiting Art Museums

When I travel for business, one of my rituals is to visit an art museum. Over the years, this practice has gifted me a circle of favorite paintings scattered across cities. They feel like friends waiting for my return.

In San Francisco, I admire an early, spare Georgia O’Keeffe. Its few decisive lines hold clarity. At the Phillips in Washington, D.C., I embrace the emotion of the Pippins. In Amsterdam, I marvel at the works of Van Gogh, which need no introduction. Yet, in New York and Washington, it is the Vuillards that truly speak to me.

Pippin painted from the heart — resilience, emotion, truth. This PiP homage celebrates his ability to turn lived experience into art that feels eternal.

My Encounter with Édouard Vuillard

My first true encounter with Édouard Vuillard happened at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. I found a canvas depicting a little girl in a brilliant orange coat. Her hand clasped in the unseen hand of an adult. The rest of the canvas is muted, grey, and understated, but that flash of orange glows.

I felt myself step into the picture. I understood the child, the gesture, and the mood. What I loved most was Vuillard’s restraint; he left so much unsaid. This openness is something I often seek in my own art. It creates space for the viewer to imagine, to supply their own story, and to answer a question the painting gently poses.

The Allure of Vuillard's Work

The Metropolitan Museum holds another Vuillard that draws me back again and again. It features women arranging white chrysanthemums in a vase. The palette is subtle—maroon, black, and white—but somehow, I can feel the texture of the dresses and the quiet of the parlor. Each visit reveals something new.

I’ve learned that once a painting stops speaking to you, it’s time to move on. I have experienced this with several artists. However, when a painting continues to offer new insights and questions, it becomes a lifelong companion.

Mona Lisa with PiP raven companion, a playful reinterpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s timeless masterpiece

The Companionship of Art

This idea of art as a companion is not new. Leonardo da Vinci is believed to have carried the Mona Lisa with him for years, not just as his masterpiece but as a living experimental canvas. Myth gives us the Muses, imagined as ever-present companions whispering inspiration.

Vincent van Gogh once said, “Art is to console those who are broken by life.” Marc Chagall insisted, “Art must be an expression of love, or it is nothing.” Across time, art has been a presence to lean on—not to solve our problems or preach, but simply to be with us.

Living with Art

I live surrounded by art: hundreds of images in my studio, each one meaningful and shaping the atmosphere of creativity and peace. To me, art is less about escape than about centering. Most of us don’t have time to meditate or sit in silence every day. But if our eyes can brush over an image that brings pleasure or poses a gentle question, that moment is invaluable.

Art is a companion—sometimes quiet, sometimes insistent, always ready to meet us where we are. In sharing the art of PiP Art Gallery, that is the invitation: to pause, to look, and to let imagination walk alongside you.

Join Our Artistic Journey

Follow our art journey on Pinterest and let inspiration find you in the quiet scroll of your day. May each image pause you, console you, or spark a new story of your own.

Paula Phelan

Founder, PiP Art Gallery