Wednesday, August 31, 2011

pretty pictures

What things inspire me?  well, its hard for me to put  it into words, but if i could, i'm not sure 350 of them would be enough. I only no that i like what i like and i like it when i'm not  bored looking at it. If i knew exactly what this aspect ,that grabs my attention was i'm not sure i would  enjoy these paintings as much as i do.  so to the best of my ability i will explain what i've learned from each painting. 
(Ps: i found each painting in the Gorgas library. Floor 3)

Stealthy Watcher by Alfred Kubin
                   One of my greatest passions in art is fantasy drawn in a realistic manner.   It is cool how artist can take a reference such as a landscape and copy it with artistic precision, but there is something fantastic about pulling something from the imagination and put it into reality using  knowledge of light and shadow.
                   More specifically about this painting I love how the artist has put the viewer on the same plane as the Cat Monster by  wrapping the cliff side around and placing the edge of it into the foreground.  If you place your thumb over this section of the drawing ( the lower left corner) the painting is still incredible, but i feel it losses something.  I also find it interesting that the CAt Monster is clearly visible but, indicated by the cliff in the foreground, the viewer is the one in the shadows.



Five Faces and this other painting that i will refer to as The Shovers  by Oleg Tselkov
                      Not realistic at all.  almost entirely monotone, strange angles, deformed , but we still know that they are images of people. Thats cool right?  We don't have to have perfection to understand what an image is supposed to represent.  What do the paintings "Mean"? I don't know, but i could stare at them for hours and feel the same wonder i did when i first looked at them.

Soldiers by Semyon Faibisovich

Lament of Icarus by Draper_Herbert_James
             Darks look darker next to light, and lights look lighter next to darks.  to make the the sea nymphs pop with light, as if they are the source, the artist didn't have to paint them solid white or give them a aura of yellow/white radiation, he just pushed the darks that surround them. i feel this would come in handy when making films.
The deluge by Francis Danby 

The Great Day by John Martin.
The Binding of the Fillet by George Lawrence 
                 Detailed objects in a bland room. this to me a good way to bring focus to objects without the use of light.  my eye tends to jump from the woman to the objects surrounding her. another way i believe the artist brought focus to each object was by framing them within  the boxes of the room. 
Dinning Recess by Patrick Cauflield
            There is a light hanging in the middle of the room, but it casts no shadow.  Is it Day or night? does it matter?  some may think by leaving out the light the artist has taken away some emotion, but i believe that the artist is allowing people read into it with their own feelings. A villain in a movie gets the cues of evil with harsh shadows and unflattering angles, why? do we need these cues? is the villain not already doing evil things? Do we need the film maker to tell use how to feel about a character? This painting  it is six chairs and a table  in a small room with one light and a window. feel how you want about it. using  such techniques in a film might remove some aesthetic appeal, but i would increase its ability to challenge ideas of right and wrong without forcing the audience one way or the other.



Monday, August 29, 2011

Top Ten Favorite Things

1. Oxygen
2. Water
3. Food
4. Shelter
5. Love
6. Sleep
7.Entertainment
8. Swiming Pools
9. Containers (to put things in.)
10. Clay.