It's not something I ever really notice on a card. In fact, I hardly ever even look at it beyond learning the vague shape to identify cards. But it's always there, just waiting to be appreciated.

The artwork.

And no one does a better job of appreciating it — and teaching you to do the same — than Mike Linnemann. Besides being an all-around awesome guy, he also does a very interesting series on Gathering Magic, and his piece this week was no exception.

I love walking into people’s homes and immediately looking at the art on their walls. It gives a glimpse into their personality, as buying and especially framing at is an intensely personal and long process. The reason we don’t wallpaper our walls is that we wish to put up art. If you have a painting on your wall, it may be partially because a group of painters, called the Hudson River Artists, had something to do with it. While they aren’t as famous as many twentieth-century artists such as Andy Warhol, but what made their contribution unique was that they instilled wonder and a love of art, and they made it more accessible.

You can read the full article here.