Alexis Rockman traveled the world, and used his travels as inspiration for his paintings. He painted the Kapok Tree after visiting Guyana, a country in South America. This painting beautifully depicts a tree in the rainforest. He addresses the fact that there are so many problems in society that are being overlooked. People do not realize their importance in changing things for good. Not only do we have the ability to cause change, it is our responsibility because we are the root of all the problems. Alexis Rockman frames the Kapok Tree in such a way that the audience notices the vibrantly colored lifeforms at the bottom and then he draws a line, with the tree, up to the dark sky showing how there is so much more to this world than we first realize. The framing of this painting is so important because it really makes the viewer think about what is truly important in life. Rockman used the vibrant …show more content…
He uses vibrant colors at the bottom of the painting. This portion is made up of all different lifeforms, representing all life in this world. The majority of the life is frogs; they are shown at every stage in life and this symbolizes the value of all life, no matter the age. Rockman chose vibrant colors here, that would really stand out to symbolize the importance of life and immediately draw the eye of anyone looking at this painting. At first glance, it seems like the overall message of the painting is the value of life, however, after a more in-depth look at this painting the darker colors begin to stand out. Because the background is completely made up of darker colors, it seems huge and this sense makes the life, at the bottom, appear to be smaller and less important in the overall meaning. The dark colors represent the problems and evils in society. The contrasting colors are used to show that even though we may think that we are the most important thing, there is so much more to the
I selected this picture because as soon as I walked into the Evans wing it jumped right out at me. The painting's huge size and grandeur drew my attention. I like the use of bold colors and strong details. The painting evokes an image of power with the muscled Automedon holding two giant horses.
Through her masterful usage of color and lighting, painter Alexis Rockman seeks to display the overwhelming beauty of the natural world and its inhabitants in her painting Kapok Tree. With a color scheme of bright colors that pops out and grab the attention of the viewer and an emphasis on lighting that divides the painting into two separate scenes, Rockman’s Kapok Tree delivers its timeless message with ease.
At the left-bottom corner of the painting, the viewer is presented with a rugged-orangish cliff and on top of it, two parallel dark green trees extending towards the sky. This section of the painting is mostly shadowed in darkness since the cliff is high, and the light is emanating from the background. A waterfall, seen originating from the far distant mountains, makes its way down into a patch of lime-green pasture, then fuses into a white lake, and finally becomes anew, a chaotic waterfall(rocks interfere its smooth passage), separating the latter cliff with a more distant cliff in the center. At the immediate bottom-center of the foreground appears a flat land which runs from the center and slowly ascends into a cliff as it travels to the right. Green bushes, rough orange rocks, and pine trees are scattered throughout this piece of land. Since this section of the painting is at a lower level as opposed to the left cliff, the light is more evidently being exposed around the edges of the land, rocks, and trees. Although the atmosphere of the landscape is a chilly one, highlights of a warm light make this scene seem to take place around the time of spring.
The major structures in the painting consist of an umber colored cross and three ladders. Starting from the top of the image, there is an old man with a scraggly, white beard holding onto and leaning over the top beam of the cross. He is set off by color, wearing a bright red gown and azure head wrap. The majority of his body rests atop the cross while he stands on the ladder that is leaning on the back of the cross.
The two focal figures are illustrated with complementary colors, the woman 's dress being orange, and the man’s pants being blue. Benton uses these colors to bring life into the painting. The background is made up mostly of earthy colors like, greens, browns, and greys and a light blue for the sky. Benton seems to add white to every color he uses, which gives the painting an opaque look. The deepest hues found in this painting are the blue one the man’s pants and the orange on the woman’s dress, everything else around them looks washed out and Benton does this to emphasize his focal points
There is, however, a slight opposition to this intense realism. It can be seen in Wood’s representation of foliage. The trees that appear in the upper left corner look like large green lollipops peeking over the roof of the house. The viewer knows that trees do not naturally look like that. Wood has depicted them as stylized and modern, similar to the trees seen is Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grand Jatte. After viewing other works by Wood, it is clear that he has adopted this representation for the trees in many of his paintings.
Hawaii is such a diverse and unique area that it is said to be a biologist’s paradise. Biologists travel here to study the wide variety of species and one such species is Aleurites moluccana or the kukui tree. The kukui tree is originally from Southeast Asia, particularly the Indo-Malaysia region, and has moved its way into the Pacific. It was first introduced to the Hawaiian islands when the Polynesians navigated their way here hundreds of years ago (Elevitch, C. R., & Manner, H. I., 2006). Since then, the kukui tree’s physical adaptations have helped it to thrive in Hawaii and native Hawaiians were able to utilize this plant in a number of ways.
images in this painting, all of which have the power to symbolize to us, the viewer, of the painter’s
The artist was able to emphasis the frog by using color and space. The background was in the color black while the frog was in a vibrant color of green with a hint of yellow. Moreover, the colors used in the drawing gave the frog a realistic look, which brought more emphasis to it. Another element that was used was space. The frog was big and at the center of the piece of artwork, while the green spots were small. Also, since there was a lot of negative space in the drawing, it emphasized the green frog. Another principle of design that was included was harmony. Harmony was created with shape and color. Around the frog were oval shaped spots that formed a big oval. This created harmony because it brought everything together. Without the oval shaped spots, it would be a frog in a black background and that would be very striking. With the spots, the frog and the background seem to go well with each other. Another way harmony was created was color. Since the frog and the oval shaped spots were both green, the viewer would be able to see the accordance within
...th color, the way he used color when it was used conveyed what was important in the piece. The body as it hangs lifeless from Saturn’s death grip is dripping with blood and it is even between the white knuckles of Saturn. In having Saturn’s knuckles white it emphasizes his grip that is so strong on the body he is drawing blood from the back. It is showing his passion in that the deed has to be done. His expression is wild and his stance is cowardly showing that he may not have wanted to do what he was doing. The message in the painting is that time consumes us all, and that is by having the god of time eating a faceless body. There is another message in this too, I believe and it is that people will do almost anything to keep their reign in power. I found this painting very stimulating and gave me many emotions. I think just because of that the piece is successful.
In terms of colours, the white colour dominates in this painting. It signifies purity, freedom and change. In the past the rulers have dominated over the people but now the prevailing power is in the hands of the peasants. The large green leaves, echoing the horse`s mane in the painting symbolise the revival of the human mind and notify of the arriving change in people`s lives.
The painting is organized simply. The background of the painting is painted in an Impressionist style. The blurring of edges, however, starkly contrasts with the sharp and hard contours of the figure in the foreground. The female figure is very sharp and clear compared to the background. The background paint is thick compared to the thin lines used to paint the figures in the foreground. The thick paint adds to the reduction of detail for the background. The colors used to paint the foreground figures are vibrant, as opposed to the whitened colors of the Impressionist background. The painting is mostly comprised of cool colors but there is a range of dark and light colors. The light colors are predominantly in the background and the darker colors are in the foreground. The vivid color of the robe contrasts with the muted colors of the background, resulting in an emphasis of the robe color. This emphasis leads the viewer's gaze to the focal part of the painting: the figures in the foreground. The female and baby in the foreground take up most of the canvas. The background was not painted as the artist saw it, but rather the impression t...
In this piece Benny has depicted himself in the artwork creating another piece of artwork. He is standing at a 45° angle as if he has been interrupted by us, the viewer. This is how Benny engages us, the viewer into his painting. As if we are just as much a part of it as he is. When looking at his painting from a distance it seems as if it is just another oil painting but upon closer observation you can clearly see the different fabrics that he uses to create the collage and which gives the painting its textures. He shows space in the painting by leaving the wall on which the canvas hangs, bare, as is the floor with the exception of the box of rags that he uses in his collage.
The most prominent color in this painting is blue; it is used in the walls, the doors the articles of clothing hanging on the wall hook and some of the items resting on the nightstand. The other prominent color is green, used on parts of floorboards, the window, a part of one of the doorframes, parts of the hanging paintings and the empty vase on the nightstand. Brown is the only ...
Olive trees reflects the artist’s Dutch heritage by its origination and in his passion for bright colors, which comes from a Dutchman’s reaction and love for colors. The main influences perceptible in this painting are those of Millet, Romanticism, and the Impressionists.