The Art in the Details

This weekend, we decided to take a short but well-deserved break away from home. Nothing extravagant — just something close enough to feel easy, yet far enough to breathe differently. It gave me the perfect chance to see my best friend who recently moved — not too far from Quebec, but far enough that visits feel like small adventures.

On the way back from our Tadoussac trip, we passed by Old Quebec. As the car rolled along those historic streets, I turned to my husband and said, “I want to come back soon.” It wasn’t the first time I’d felt that pull. There’s something magnetic about Old Town — a warmth, a richness, a texture that stirs something deep inside me.

For a long time, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why those getaways meant so much to me. Then, while reading a blog from another artist, I understood: it’s the details.

The world used to be filled with them — small gestures of creativity and intention that made life itself a work of art. You could see it in the shape of a window frame, in the curve of an old doorknob, in the way a craftsman carved meaning into wood or stone. Every building carried a piece of someone’s imagination. Every corner told a story.

But over time, we traded that for convenience. Industrialization came with efficiency, but also a quiet loss. Slowly, the world around us became more uniform — simple, yes, but stripped of life. Walls turned flat and grey. Materials became synthetic. And somehow, the art of living with beauty faded from our everyday lives.

When I walk through Old Quebec, I feel that loss and that longing. I find myself stopping to photograph the carvings on a façade, the rust patterns on an iron balcony, the way sunlight touches the worn stone of a century-old wall. Each of these details speaks to me. They remind me of what humanity can do when it takes the time to create — to imagine — to care.

I think that’s why I’m an artist.
A part of me refuses to accept that this transition — from craftsmanship to conformity — is progress. I believe beauty has a purpose. It makes us feel alive.

And it turns out, I’m not alone in thinking this. Research shows that living surrounded by art, colours, and textures has real effects on our well-being. Studies in environmental psychology have proven that aesthetic environments reduce