Monday, May 7, 2007

Final Museum Paper

This essay is a comparative analysis of two artworks created by the American painters, William H. Johnson and Winslow Homer. Johnson was born on March 18, 1901 in Florence, South Carolina and Winslow Homer was born on February 24, 1836 in Boston Massachusetts. The artworks examined include Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go” and Homer’s “The Dinner Horn”. Johnson, an American Harlem Renaissance painter, created “Ambulance on the Go” in 1942, during World War II. The medium used was tempera, pen, and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper. This art piece is located at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. Homer created “Dinner Horn”, an oil painting on canvas, in 1870. It is located at the National Gallery of Art, also in Washington DC. Although Homer’s work resembles that of impressionism, there is no evidence that he was directly influenced by the movement (Wikipedia). The period in which both these artworks belong to is known as Modern Art. The Modern art period covers the late 19th century to about 1970 (Wikipedia). The analysis of these artworks will include design, mood, medium, technique, style, and subject matter.

The subject matter includes the theme for which an artwork was created. A theme is an idea or concept used as a context for which an artwork was created. The primary theme behind “Ambulance on the Go” is “stories and histories” (Getlein). “Ambulance on the Go” was created under a historical context, specifically World War II. The painting, depicts a series of ambulances, on which the well-known logo of “The American Red Cross”. The “American Red Cross” has a long history of providing disaster relief to Americans during times of great need. At the time Johnson created this painting, it is known that the “American Red Cross” mostly provided numerous forms of relief to our armed forces overseas. Much of this relief came in the form of mobile medical care (ambulances)(American Red Cross). The theme could also include the “Here and Now. For some people, World War II represented a tragic and violent time in American History (1939-1945) (American Red Cross).

In comparison to “Ambulance on the Go”, Winslow Homer’s painting, “The Dinner Horn” would also have a “Here and Now” theme (Getlein), but from a different era (ca. 1870). The painting shows the lifestyle of operating a farm. In the painting we can see what appears to be distant animals and field workers, being called to dinner by a woman blowing a horn. For many people during this timeframe, farm life was very common. It meant working from sun-up to sundown, eating a good dinner, sleeping, and then preparing to repeat the cycle the next day. Although the “Here and Now” theme can be applied to both Johnson and Homer’s paintings, “Dinner Horn” depicts a simpler and less complicated lifestyle, time and place. Finally, in contrast to, “Ambulance on the Go”, “Dinner Horn” appears to have a more realistic scene of nature. From the various colored leaves and blowing wind, we could believe this is the natural scene of an autumn day. Such a scene, lends itself to an “Art and Nature” theme (Getlein). A deeper analysis of these artworks colors, shapes, and movement would guide us toward their design.

When looking at the design of these artworks, the elements and principles of their design must be examined. Johnson’s painting depicts a directional line of ambulances moving farther out towards the horizon. Directional lines guide our eyes in the painting and suggest movement. As we follow the trail of ambulances we can notice there is a linear perspective, where the farthest left-most ambulance is approaching a vanishing point. The term linear perspective means that objects seem to diminish in size as they recede from us and corresponding parallel lines converge into a distant point on the horizon (vanishing point). Johnson also appears to use analogous color harmonies. An analogous color harmony is an arrangement of colors that are also adjacent to one another in the visible spectrum of colors. The most notable color harmony is the green fields against yellow flowers, yellow ambulance wheels and yellow houses. Finally, the shadows underneath the wheels and body of the closer ambulances indicate there is an implied light source (perhaps the sun)

Similar to “Ambulance on the Go”, “Dinner Horn”, also uses directional lines and movement. This direction and movement is seen through the woman standing in the center of the painting. In one direction the woman is facing and blowing a dinner horn which directs our eyes toward the field. However, her blowing dress implies wind movement in the opposing direction. We can also see vertical lines in the edge of the house and window seal and diagonal lines in the house’s side boards & tree limbs. Unlike “Ambulance on the Go”, this painting contains a contour line which outlines the shape of the hillside closest to the house. In terms of color, there are several analogous autumn earth tone colors. These colors can be seen in the brown, yellow, and red leaves blown at the woman’s feet (including the brown color of the house). From an atmospheric perspective, we can see a receding landscape, where the field workers, animals, and trees are less distinct. Atmospheric perspective is an optical effect where a receding pale blue sky causes other intervening distant objects to be less distinct and take on a bluish tinge. As in Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go”, the landscape also recedes into a blue sky. The shadow underneath the blown dress and the shadow along the nearby hillside, indicates there is implied sun light, similar to the implied light in “Ambulance on the Go”.

Johnson’s painting, “Ambulance on the Go”, uses several principles of design. These design principles include unity, variety, rhythm, and asymmetrical balance. The most obvious principles are the unity and rhythm of the ambulances. The ambulances are all similar in shape, color and direction of movement. They have a tight formation marching along the road as if they are part a single of linked chain. This repetitive chain of ambulances reinforces the concept of rhythm in the painting. We also see a rhythmic line of yellow houses and trees along the horizon. Again, there is even more repetition as we follow the line of telephone poles along the road. There are some unifying colors in the painting. The green fields seem to dominate the lower half of the painting and shades of blue dominate the upper half of the painting. Yet there still seems to be some colors of variety, with the yellow and red flowers speckled in the green field and yellow and red wheel spokes. Finally, the painting appears to be asymmetrically balanced. Looking along the road in the direction of movement, on the right side of the road we see telephone poles, houses, and trees. On the left side we only see small flowers.

“Dinner Horn”, displays the design principles of emphasis, subordination, asymmetrical balance, unity, and variety. The main point of emphasis is the lone female standing in the center of the painting. She stands out because her bright dress and skin tone sharply contrasts with the darker hues in the background. The dark house and trees provide an implied frame around the woman. The house, trees, shadowy hillside, and distant field are all subordinate to the lone female. Also, the painting seems to be asymmetrical, primarily because the visual weight of the house draws some attention away from the female. The scene would appear more symmetrically balanced without the house and if a tree trunk on right balanced the left tree trunk as the woman stood in the center. The entire painting implies a seasonal change to autumn. The wind blowing red, brown, and yellow leaves unifies the autumn scene of the painting. The dark earth tone color of the house (brown) further unifies this autumn scene. Although these colors give some unity, we can also see a lone patch of dirt that the female stands in, providing some variety. There also seems to be some strange variety of color in the blue leaves to the right of the woman.

The mood of an artwork is the subjective perception of the overall feeling or states of mind the artwork projects. When looking at the marching ambulances of Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go”, we perceive that there is a determined mission to be accomplished. Visually, the overall mood of the painting has a childish cartoon quality. In contrast, “Dinner Horn”, shows a authoritative looking woman standing upright with one hand on here hip. In addition it would require a great deal of energy to blow the dinner horn loud enough for the workers to hear. The overall mood here speaks to a authoritative energy being displayed through the woman.

The medium used in “Ambulance on the Go” is tempera - a type of paint made with egg yolk (Wikipedia), pen, and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper. Tempera painting is quite different from oil painting, and usually does not produce colors as deep as an oil painting (Wikipedia). For a precise technique, tempera paintings may also require several small brush strokes (Wikipedia). The colors in “Ambulance on the Go” appear to be brighter and not as deep as those of “Dinner Horn”, an oil painting on canvas. Also, “Dinner Horn” appears to have finer detail than “Ambulance on the Go”. For example, “Dinner Horn” shows very fine detail and shadows in the woman’s blowing dress, an interleaving of light and shadows in the nearby trees, and details in the house. A hidden brush stroke technique appears to be used here, allowing us to see these fine details, the effects of lighting and shadows along with a contrasting of colors. Given the limitations of the medium and techniques used, we can now examine how this impacts the style of each paining.

Examining the style or appearance of objects in “Ambulance on the Go”, the painting appears to be stylized. Stylized means objects in the drawing appear to be drawn in a standard fashion. For example, when Johnson draws one ambulance, then we know how the remaining ambulances will look, because they’re drawn in a standard fashion. This is also true for the telephone poles and trees. In comparison, Winslow Homer has a more naturalistic style in his painting. Naturalistic means that objects or bodies are represented the way they appear to us in the real world. Light, colors, shadows, and bodies are realistically reflected in the artwork. Homer’s painting, “Dinner Horn”, realistically shows a female blowing a horn to call workers in for dinner. The woman is drawn to scale, the light and colors are reflected realistically, the wind seems to have a natural flow, and the shadows are consistent with the direction of the light source.

In Conclusion, the reason these works were examined is because of their artistic and historical significance in American culture. “Ambulance on the Go” and “Dinner Horn” were both created by American artists of the Modern Art Period. The subject matter (theme) for which the paintings where created represent vastly different aspects of American life. The design elements and principles also show several similarities as well as differences. However, the mood in “Ambulance on the Go” may be perceived as a childish drawing, while the mood in “Dinner Horn” is perceived to be authoritative and energetic. Johnson’s choice of medium, tempera, also seems to dictate what kinds of technique he uses, setting it apart from Homer’s oil on canvas painting. Finally, the stylized characteristic of Johnson’s Red Cross ambulances contrasts greatly with Homer naturalistic style of landscape and farm life. Overall, these artists have some similarities as painters of Modern American art, however, their art work portrays American life from completely different angles.

Overall, I liked both artworks because they helped me study, understand and appreciate art in a new and interesting way. The analysis of these artworks expanded my way of thinking about art and provided a lesson I can carry with me forever.


Work Citations
Getlein, Mark. Living with Art, Eighth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005

Wikipedia.”Winslow Homer”.Wikipedia.26 April 2007.01 May 2007 .

Wikipedia.”William Johnson (artist)”.Wikipedia.18 April 2007.01 May 2007 .

Wikipedia.”Tempera”.Wikipedia.24 April 2007.01 May 2007 .

Wikipedia.”Art Periods”.Wikipedia.29 April 2007.01 May 2007 .

American Red Cross. “World War II Accomplishments of the American Red Cross”. American Red Cross Museum. 01 May 2007 <>.

Friday, May 4, 2007

Creative Blog And Photobucket Images

The primary theme I'm using for my creative blog is "Animals and Nature as Art". Most of the images are paintings or photos of Animals and/or Nature which I found artistically interesting.

Entry#1: Woodpecker in the backyard
March 1, 2007

This photograph of a woodpecker was taken in my backyard. The woodpecker was very busy at pecking a deep hole in the tree. What's visually interesting about this photo is that the bird has high contrast in its body (black and white) and the red top makes it stand out more than anything else. It truly reminds me of the popular cartoon "Woody Woodpecker".

Please see the video below this photo.

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Entry #2: My Cat Jenny
March 5, 2007

This is a photograph of my cat Jenny. What I like about Jenny is the white stripes in her brown fur. She also has white strips in her legs and the tips of her paws are all white. Her eyes are greenish-yellow with black pupils.

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Entry #3: Deer in the Backyard
March 7, 2007

This photo was taken of a deer standing behind a fence in my backyard. It appears that the deer is aware that it's being watched. It's beautiful how the deer blends in with the fence, tree trunks, and greenery in this scene.

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Entry #4: Red Fox by Carl Runquis
March 10, 2007

This is a painting created by Carl Runquis in 1933. This painting seemed to fit in well with my theme "Animals and Nature". The white fur on the chset and neck contrasts with the fox's brown fur. This reminds me of my cat, who also had solid white fur on the chest and neck.

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Entry #5: Photo of an Amur Leopard
March 12, 2007

The Amur Leopard, which lives in cold climates, is extremely close to extinction. I really like the black spots on the leapords orange fur, which contrats against the white snow.

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Entry #6: Charging Wolf by John Nieto
March 14, 2007

This is a 1998 painting called "Charging Wolf" by John Nieto. I found this painting to be interesting because it was so colorful. It reminds me of the wild and colorful art of Andy Warhol. Perhaps the artists chose to use "wild" colors to symbolize a "wild" wolf.

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Entry #7: Mongoose warms belly
March 16, 2007

This mongoose is in a cold outdoor zoo and a heat lamp was placed nearby for warmth. It appears the mongoose is aware of the lamps heating capability. Interstingly, the way the mongoose stands upright in front of the lamp, you would believe this is a natural behavior for warming itself. The behavior is similar to what a human might do in front of camp fire or fireplace.

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Entry #8: A Tiger Cub and Orangutan
March 19, 2007

This Tiger cub and orangutan appear to be nurturing each other. It's an "odd couple" sort of behavior, but at the same time heart-warming. I wonder if they'll behave in this manner after they mature into full grown animals ?

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Entry #9: Squirrel likes to eat Reese's
March 22, 2007

I chose this photo because it's simply humuorous. I guess squirrels can have a sweet tooth also. It's instersting to note that the color of the squirrels fur blends right into the color of the tree it's climbing. This makes detecting the squirrel hard, but the bright orange and yellow reese candy wrapper is what really draws your attention to the squirrel. Without the wrapper the photographer may have never noticed this squirrel.

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Entry #10: Black Cat in cut grain
March 24, 2007

This photo shows a black cat in the middle of a cut grain field. The constrast in this photo is stunning because you immediately see the cat. Futhermore, the cat also see's the photographer. One interesting point is that the cat's eyes appear to be the same golden yellow color as that of the grain. So this effect almost gives the illusion of looking through the cat's eyes.

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Entry #11: Steaming Blackbird
March 27, 2007

This red-winged blackbird sings on a cold winter day, as steam rises off it's breath. The steam implies that the bird is much warmer than the air. This is not something I normally see in the winter, so it msut be pretty cold. Also what makes the bird and it's breath more noticeable is that the background is a clear blue sky (no clouds).

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Entry #12: Panda Bear at play
March 30, 2007

I like panda bears because of its contrasting black and white fur. This panda bear appears alert and that someone is watching him.

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Entry #13: Hummingbird in Flight
April 1, 2007

This photo catches a hummingbird trying to retrieve nectar while showing the detail of its wings. This photographer must have a high end performance camera (quick shutter), because the frequency at which hummingbirds flap their wings is very high. Most photos would show the wings as blurred mass. Here we can see great detail and the complementing colors (green and red).

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Entry #14: Pony Express Rider by William Henry Jackson
April 2, 2007

This undated painting titled "Pony Express Rider" by William Henry Jackson shows a mail carrier delivering mail. The horse is the first thing I notice in this painting. The direction and motion of the horse are evident by the curled legs and the trailing dust cloud. I also notice the atmosphreric perspective in the background mountains.

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Entry #15: Bat in Flight
April 5, 2007

Here is a bat flying and cooling itself on a hot summer day. In this photo we can see direction and movement by the way the bat is pointed and by the blurred water trail.

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Entry #16: A Rainbow of Parrot Fish
April 10, 2007

Here is a school of parrot fish on display at an aquarium. This picture is so colorful. We can see the full spectrum of the color wheel represented here.

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Entry #17: Best Friends
April 16, 2007

This dog and cats are keeping each other warm on a cold winter day. Two things here are interesting. First, the dog and cats seem to get along with one another. Sencondly, this dog is more than twice the size of the cats. These animals stand out alot since there's alot of contrast against the snow.

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Entry #18: Owl by Ogden Pleissner
April 21, 2007

This is a 1968 painting called "Owl" by Ogden Pleissner. The stretched wings of this owl are impressive, but intimidating. Overall, the painting seems somewhat gloomy and scary. The trees are dark and dead. No leaves are growing from it. Also, the sky seems dark as if a strom is approaching. Perhaps these observations have a symbolic meaning.

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Entry #19: Struggling Duckling
April 25, 2007

Here is a baby duckling and it's mother. Appearantly the duckling was unable to climb the curb and the mother shows concern. What's interesting is that the duckling is the same color as the curb.

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Entry #20: American Black Bear by Carl Runquis
May 1, 2007

This is a 1929 painting called "American Black Bear" by Carl Runquis. The painting shows a beautiful scene of autumn (Red,Orange Yellow, & Green leaves). Our attention is drawn to the bear as it contrasts with the leaves and tree trunk it climbs.

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Final Museum Paper - DRAFT

May 01, 2007


Artist: William H. Johnson
Title: “Ambulance on the Go”
Date: ca. 1942
Medium: tempera and pen and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper
Size: 14 x 18 1/4 in.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.





Artist: Winslow Homer
Title: “The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)”
Date: 1870
Medium: Oil On Canvas
Location: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

This essay is a comparative analysis of two artworks created by the American painters, William H. Johnson and Winslow Homer. Johnson was born on March 18, 1901 in Florence, South Carolina and Winslow Homer was born on February 24, 1836 in Boston Massachusetts (Wikipedia). The artworks examined include Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go” and Homer’s “The Dinner Horn”. Johnson, an American Harlem Renaissance painter, created “Ambulance on the Go” in 1942, during World War II. The medium used was tempera, pen, and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper. This art piece is located at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. Homer created “Dinner Horn”, an oil painting on canvas, in 1870. It is located at the National Gallery of Art, also in Washington DC. Although Homer’s work resembles that of impressionism, there is no evidence that he was directly influenced by the movement (Wikipedia). The period in which both these artworks belong to is known as Modern Art. The Modern art period covers the late 19th century to about 1970 (Wikipedia). The analysis of these artworks will include subject matter, design, mood, medium & technique, and style.

To begin we’ll examine the subject matter of each painting. The subject matter includes the theme for which an artwork was created. A theme is an idea or concept used as a context for which an artwork is created. The primary theme behind “Ambulance on the Go” is “stories and histories” (Getlein). “Ambulance on the Go” was created under a historical context, specifically World War II. The painting, created in 1942, shows a series of ambulances, depicting the well-known logo of “The American Red Cross”. The “American Red Cross” has a long history of providing disaster relief to Americans during times of great need. At the time Johnson created this painting, it is known that the “American Red Cross” mostly provided numerous forms of relief to our armed forces overseas. Much of this relief came in the form of mobile medical care (ambulances)(American Red Cross).

It can also be argued that the painting includes a “Here and Now” theme. For some people, World War II represented a tragic and violent time in American History (1939-1945) (American Red Cross). For “The American Red Cross” it represented a time of great sacrifice, since the organization relied heavily upon a large number of volunteers (7.5 million) who sacrificed their time, energy, and sometimes lives (American Red Cross). Johnson’s painting depicts a trail of ambulances that most likely were operated by volunteers. These are volunteers, “On the Go”, who chose to leave behind families, careers, and dreams. For them, this was life at that time and place.

In comparison to “Ambulance on the Go”, Winslow Homer’s painting, “The Dinner Horn” would also have a “Here and Now” theme (Getlein), but for a different era (ca. 1870). The painting shows the lifestyle of operating a farm. In the painting we can see what appears to be distant animals and field workers, being called to dinner by a woman blowing a horn. For many people during this timeframe, farm life was very common. It meant working from sun-up to sundown, eating a good dinner, sleeping, and then preparing to repeat the cycle the next day. Although the “Here and Now” theme can be applied to both Johnson and Homer’s paintings, “Dinner Horn” depicts a simpler and less complicated lifestyle, time and place. Finally, in contrast to, “Ambulance on the Go”, “Dinner Horn” appears to have a more realistic scene of nature. From the various colored leaves and blowing wind, we could believe this is the natural scene of an autumn day. Such a scene, lends itself to an “Art and Nature” theme (Getlein). A deeper analysis of these artworks colors, shapes, and movement would guide us toward their design.

When looking at the design of these artworks, the elements and principles of their design must be examined. Johnson’s painting depicts a directional line of ambulances moving farther out towards the horizon. Directional lines guide our eyes in the painting and suggest movement. As we follow the trail of ambulances we can notice there is a linear perspective, where the farthest left-most ambulance is approaching a vanishing point. The term linear perspective means that objects seem to diminish in size as they recede from us and corresponding parallel lines converge into a distant point on the horizon (vanishing point). Johnson also appears to use analogous color harmonies. An analogous color harmony is an arrangement of colors that are also adjacent to one another in the visible spectrum of colors. The most notable color harmony is the green fields against yellow flowers, yellow ambulance wheels and yellow houses. Finally, the shadows underneath the wheels and body of the closer ambulances indicate there is an implied light source (perhaps the sun)

Similar to “Ambulance on the Go”, “Dinner Horn”, also uses directional lines and movement. This direction and movement is seen through the woman standing in the center of the painting. In one direction the woman is facing and blowing a dinner horn at workers in the field. However, her blowing dress implies wind movement in the opposing direction. We can also see vertical lines in the edge of the house and window seal and diagonal lines in the house’s side boards & tree limbs. Unlike “Ambulance on the Go”, this painting contains a contour line which outlines the shape of the hillside closest to the house. In terms of color, there are several analogous autumn earth tone colors. These colors can be seen in the brown, yellow, and red leaves blown at the woman’s feet (including the brown color of the house). From an atmospheric perspective, we can see a receding landscape, where the field workers, animals, and trees are less distinct. Atmospheric perspective is an optical effect where a receding pale blue sky causes other intervening distant objects to be less distinct and take on a bluish tinge. As in Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go”, the landscape also recedes into a blue sky. The shadow underneath the blown dress and the shadow along the nearby hillside, indicates there is implied sun light, similar to the implied light in “Ambulance on the Go”.

Johnson’s painting, “Ambulance on the Go”, uses several principles of design. These design principles include unity, variety, rhythm, and asymmetrical balance. The most obvious principles are the unity and rhythm of the ambulances. The ambulances are all similar in shape, color and direction of movement. They have a tight formation marching along the road as if they are part a single of linked chain. This repetitive chain of ambulances reinforces the concept of rhythm in the painting. We also see a rhythmic line of yellow houses along the horizon. Again, there is even more repetition as we follow the line of telephone poles along the road. There are some unifying colors in the painting. The green fields seem to dominate the lower half of the painting and shades of blue dominate the upper half of the painting. Yet there still seems to be some colors of variety, with the yellow and red flowers speckled in the green field and yellow and red wheel spokes. Finally, the painting appears to be asymmetrically balanced. Looking along the road in the direction of movement, on the right side of the road we see telephone poles, houses, and trees. On the left side we only see small flowers.

“Dinner Horn”, displays the design principles of emphasis, subordination, asymmetrical balance, unity, and variety. The main point of emphasis is the lone female standing in the center of the painting. She stands out because her bright dress and skin tone sharply contrasts with the darker hues in the background. The house, trees, shadowy hillside, and distant field are all subordinate to the lone female.Also, the painting seems to be asymmetrical, primarily because the visual weight of the house draws some attention away from the female. The scene would appear more symmetrically balanced without the house and if a tree trunk on right balanced the left tree trunk as the woman stood in the center.The entire painting implies a seasonal change to autumn. The wind blowing red, brown, and yellow leaves unifies the autumn scene of the painting. The dark earth tone color of the house (brown) further unifies this autumn scene. Although these colors give some unity, we can also see a lone patch of dirt that the female stands in, providing some variety. There also seems to be some strange variety of color in the blue leaves to the right of the woman.

The mood of an artwork is the subjective perception of the overall feeling or states of mind the artwork projects. When looking at the marching ambulances of Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go”, we perceive that there is a determined mission to be accomplished. Also given the war context in which the work was created we might also say there is a patriotic mood. In contrast, “Dinner Horn”, shows a confident looking woman standing upright with one hand on here hip. In addition it would require a great deal of energy to blow the dinner horn loud enough for the workers to hear. The overall mood here speaks to a confident energy being displayed through the woman.

The medium used in “Ambulance on the Go” is tempera - a type of paint made with egg yolk (Wikipedia), pen, and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper. Tempera painting is quite different from oil painting, and usually does not produce colors as deep as an oil painting (Wikipedia). For a precise technique, tempera paintings may also require several small brush strokes (Wikipedia). The colors in “Ambulance on the Go” appear to be brighter and not as deep as those of “Dinner Horn”, an oil painting on canvas. Also, “Dinner Horn” appears to have finer detail than “Ambulance on the Go”. For example, “Dinner Horn” shows very fine detail and shadows in the woman’s blowing dress, an interleaving of light and shadows in the nearby trees, and details in the house. A hidden brush stroke technique appears to be used here, allowing us to see these fine details, the effects of lighting and shadows along with a contrasting of colors. Given the limitations of the medium and techniques used, we can now examine how this impacts the style of each paining.

Examining the style or appearance of objects in “Ambulance on the Go”, the painting appears to be stylized. Stylized means objects in the drawing appear to be drawn in a standard fashion. For example, when Johnson draws one ambulance, then we know how the remaining ambulances will look, because they’re drawn in a standard fashion. This is also true for the telephone poles and trees. In comparison, Winslow Homer has a more naturalistic style in his painting. Naturalistic means that objects or bodies are represented the way they appear to us in the real world. Light, colors, shadows, and bodies are realistically reflected in the artwork. Homer’s painting, “Dinner Horn”, realistically shows a female blowing a horn to call workers in for dinner. The woman is drawn to scale, the light and colors are reflected realistically, the wind seems to have a natural flow, and the shadows are consistent with the direction of the light source.

In Conclusion, the reason these works were examined is because of their artistic and historical significance in American culture. “Ambulance on the Go” and “Dinner Horn” were both created by American artists of the Modern Art Period. The subject matter (theme) for which the paintings where created represent vastly different aspects of American life. The design elements and principles also show several similarities as well as differences. However, the mood in “Ambulance on the Go” is perceived to be patriotic while the mood in “Dinner Horn” is perceived to be confident and energetic. Johnson’s choice of medium, tempera, also seems to dictate what kinds of technique he uses, setting it apart from Homer’s oil on canvas painting. Finally, the stylized characteristic of Johnson’s Red Cross ambulances contrasts greatly with Homer naturalistic style of landscape and farm life. Overall, these artists have some similarities as painters of Modern American art, however, their art work portrays American life from completely different angles.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Activity 9 - Period and Culture Essay

April 29, 2007

The artwork of William H. Johnson, an American Harlem Renaissance painter, is known for portraying American culture and more specifically African-American culture. The Harlem Renaissance is an art movement which occurred during the period known as Modern Art. Modern art covers the late 19th century to about 1970 (1). The Harlem Renaissance was known for portraying the culture or way of life for many African-Americans. Johnson’s 1942, painting “Ambulance on the Go”, covers both the American as well as the African-American culture. This painting depicts several Red-Cross ambulances going to the aid of soldiers during World War II. The painting is inspired by Johnson’s patriotism as an American. However, as an African-American there were other issues he may have had to encounter. During this time frame many African-Americans were not able to contribute to the War effort in the same manner as their white counterparts, because of deep segregation in the military (2). So, many African-Americans found alternative methods of contributing and expressing their patriotism. One of those methods was working for volunteer-related services, such as the American Red Cross, to aid our armed forces (3). Johnson most likely was aware of this aspect of African-American culture when he created this artwork.

Winslow Homer, an American painter, was known for painting landscapes, especially coastal landscapes, and farm life (4). Homer’s 1870 painting, “Dinner Horn” falls within the early Modern Art period (1) and depicts the culture of American farm life. Looking at the painting, the woman is calling the field workers in for dinner. The painting suggests that she played a part in preparing the dinner for the field workers. It further suggests that her role was to work in the house (perhaps preparing dinner), while the outdoor workers primary role was to farm the land. These observations point to the roles men and woman played in traditional farm culture.

In comparison, Johnson and Homer’s paintings belong to the same period of Art (Modern), but the cultures were vastly different. Firstly, America was not engaged in a war during the time Homer’s painting was created. Second, Johnson’s painting depicts motor vehicles, which indicates the culture used more advanced technology. Finally, Johnson’s culture came from the African-American point of view, which was not necessarily reflected in Homer’s work.

Citations:
(1) Wikipedia, Art Periods
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_periods
April 29, 2007

(2) Smithsonian American Art Museum
URL: http://americanart.si.edu/highlights/artworks.cfm?id=GM&StartRow=41
April 29, 2007

(3) American Red Cross
URL: http://www.redcross.org/museum/history/ww2a.asp
April 29, 2007

(4) Wikipedia, Winslow Homer
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winslow_Homer
April 29, 2007

Monday, April 23, 2007

Contemporary Remix Photos And Statement

April 23, 2007


"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol

2007 Calendar : African-Americans That Changed America


October: Oprah Winfrey


Remix Statement:


My remix is a 2007 calendar which contains notable African-Americans who influenced and changed American culture. Each month features a popular and well accomplished African-American whose portrait is patterned after the unique style of Andy Warhol. As part of the African-American culture the men and women contained in the remix provide a model of excellence for me and all Americans who aspire for greatness and positive change.

The Calendar contains the following people:

January - Dr. Mae Jemison
February - Frederick Douglass
March - Muhammad Ali
April - Thurgood Marshall
May - Maya Angelou
June - Robert Johnson
July - Jackie Robinson
August - Ray Charles
September - Mary McLeod Bethune
October - Oprah Winfrey
November - Eleanor Holmes Norton
December - Rosa Parks

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Activity 13 - DADA Photo Collage postcard

April 23, 2007 DADA Photo Collage Postcard


Sunday, April 15, 2007

Comments on Dadaism

April 15, 2007

During World War II Dadaism, a rebellious form of art, was used to mirror the reality of our world. It consisted mostly of raw photographic art collaged together, to make a visual protest. These protests were created to shock, astonish, and often times offend viewers as an expression of disapproval of our current state of affairs. For example, one of the popular anti-war related images of the Dada movement was that of the war-cripple.

Today I think we still have art that’s meant to shock as a means of protest, but it’s not referred to as Dadaism. Our modern forms of protest art have expanded to everything from photographs to movies, books, and TV. It includes mostly everything that touches our freedom of speech. Since we live in a world of mass media (satellites, TV, cable, international magazines, newspapers and the Internet) protest art is far more reaching than that of the original Dada movement. Although the way we view protest art may have expanded, we still struggle with the same issues of our past, specifically the issue of war (i.e. Vietnam, The first Gulf War, and the current war in Iraq).

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Activity 11 - Museum Ekphrasis

March 31, 2007

The painting I am describing is by French Artist Claude Monet. The painting was created in 1880 on an oil canvas located at the National Gallery of Art.

The very bottom of the painting consists of a round and brown table. Since the table is not exactly centered, the bottom and left edges of the table are completely cropped out of the painting. However the rounded right edge of the table is visible at the bottom right corner of the painting.

On the center of the table sits a dark red diamond shaped cloth-textured mat. The mat does not cover the entire table, but most of the table’s center. One corner of the mat points toward the bottom of the painting. The left corner points to the left of the paining and the right corner points to the right. Along the edges of the entire mat are golf ball sized balls along the edge of the entire mat. The color of each ball alternates between green and purple as you follow along the edge of the mat.

Placed on the center of the mat is an off white colored jar. The jar curves inward near its top to form a neck, similar to that of a vase. The curved neck at the top is short compared to overall height of the jar.

Coming from the opening of the jar, stands a tall arrangement of yellow Jerusalem Artichoke flowers and green leaves. The Jerusalem Artichoke resembles the shape and color of a sunflower. At the end of their long stems are thin, yellow, pointed petals formed around a circular golden center. Most of the green leaves are at the bottom of the arrangement, while most the yellow Jerusalem Artichokes are at the top.
Most of the background looks as if it were painted with thick strokes of bluish-grey with a few strokes of pale orange and red disbursed throughout the background

Friday, March 30, 2007

Activity10 - Style and Movement

March 30, 2007


The style of William H. Johnson’s 1942 painting, “Ambulance on the Go”, seems to be abstract. Abstract means that a given work of art was created such that certain parts of the visible world appear simplified or exaggerated. In “Ambulance on the Go” many of the real world objects appear to be drawn in simplified shapes. The objects appear so simplified that you might believe a child drew the painting. For example, trees are drawn without much definition, but as simple green ovals. The ambulances appear as simple rectangles with wheels that are uneven in proportion to each other.

In terms of movement, Johnson is classified as a Harlem Renaissance painter, but “Ambulance on the Go”, is clearly a World War II inspired painting. It is an expression of Johnson’s patriotism during the war effort. The “American Red Cross” ambulances depicted in the painting played a role in the volunteer-related services that helped the United States become victorious in World War II.

Compared to Johnson’s Work, Winslow Homer had a more naturalistic style in his paintings. Naturalistic means that objects or bodies are represented the way they appear to us in the real world. Light, colors, shadows, and bodies are realistically reflected in the artwork. Homer’s painting, “Dinner Horn”, realistically shows a female blowing a horn to call workers in for dinner. The woman is drawn to scale, the light and colors are reflected realistically, the wind seems to have a natural flow, and the shadows are consistent with the direction of the light source.

It’s not clear what movement inspired “Dinner Horn”, a late 19th century American painting, but it appears to resemble that of impressionism. Impressionism is art drawn from the artist’s impression of how light and color is perceived by their eyes. Sometimes light is not evenly distributed and is perceived to be scattered throughout a given scene. This is particularly true in scenes of outdoor landscapes. For example, in “Dinner Horn” we see an outdoor landscape where light is passing through several trees. In some areas we see lighter colors, but in others we see darker shadows. Looking at the female, the light source is perceived to be coming from the right, since her dress appears to be the brightest on that side. Overall the painting appears to be drawn on how Homer’s eyes perceived the scene.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Andy Warhol Marketing Influence on Art.

March 25, 2007

Andy Warhol's approach to art expanded our view of what we look at as being art. For example, label's on retail product's (soup, brillo, etc.), celebrity portraits, and silk screens. His unique way of adding color to images expanded how we think of art. Today art plays a big part of media and marketing. Warhol's pop art approach has helped influence today's modern art from everything to Music CDs, to Movies and television commercials.

In our modern era there are new dimensions of art since the height of Warhol's career. Today computers affect every aspect of life, including art. Today computers can be used for archiving, exhibitions, animation, graphics and many other applications. For a new artist who is looking to market their artwork and gain exposure, the Internet is a great start. These technologies will likely become more advanced and add even more dimensions to how art is created and marketed.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Screen Printing Comments

March 20, 2007

The process of screen printing for the novice artist includes learning to accept that not every image will be perfect. It is OK to have some imperfections in the final image. Sometimes imperfections are art in themselves. In my case, William Johnson’s work “Ambulance on the Go”, the telephone poles did not completely transfer to the fabric, even though I followed the procedures. Perhaps the cliché: “practice makes perfect” is an additional lesson for me as well.
Overall the whole screen printing project was a satisfying experience, because I got to see the results of my personal creation. In addition this is an experience that I can take with me beyond the class.

Mid-Term Remix Artist Statement


March 20, 2007


The artwork of Andy Warhol is what I chose to remix. Upon first studying Warhol, his physical appearance seemed very plain, which matched his quiet and introverted personality. However his artwork and quotations say otherwise. Much of his artwork seems to be obsessed with what was popular at the time. The subject of this art could be a commercial product, a political leader, a political movement, etc. This artwork also included portraits of many celebrities during the height of his career, which is what my remix focuses on. The remix includes portraits of Grace Jones, Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Muhammad Ali, and Prince. These celebrities at some point reached great fame in their careers and Warhol seems to capture this with his signature style of wild & flamboyant colors. His style is clearly meant to grab your attention, as though he wanted to reinforce the subject’s popularity. Much of his artwork also included his own self-portraits.

During Warhol’s career, media played such a big part of being popular (TV, newspapers, magazines, etc), that Warhol is most noted for his quote “In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes”. Given today’s world-wide Internet connectivity, his statement is probably more true than he realized.

The purpose of my remix was to show that in our modernized age of computer blogs, image software, & Internet sites, that not just celebrities, but everyone can be famous for 15 minutes. The remix shows several of my self-portraits, influenced by Warhol’s unique style of coloring and special effects. With the help of a computer I was able to use my own portrait to mimic many of his “famous” artworks. I suspect that if Andy Warhol were alive today, he would have taken computerized artwork to a level none of us could have imagined.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License

The remixed artwork is a derivative of other artworks. The following MLA citations credit the original artists used in the artwork:

Andy Warhol Artwork Citations:

Warhol, Andy. Muhammad Ali. 1978. Pollack Fine Arts, London, UK.
Date Accessed: 03/20/2007
URL: http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images_160352_265805_andy-warhol.jpg


Warhol, Andy. Marilyn. 1976. The Taylor Gallery, Belfast Ireland
Date Accessed: 03/20/2007
URL: http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images_424450562_253954_andy-warhol.jpg


Warhol, Andy. Grace Jones. 1986. Coskun Fine Arts, London, UK.
Date Accessed: 03/20/2007
URL: http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images_160529_246519_andy-warhol.jpg


Warhol, Andy. Prince. 1984. Coskun Fine Arts, London, UK.
Date Accessed: 03/20/2007
URL: http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images_160529_246517_andy-warhol.jpg


Warhol, Andy. Mick Jagger.1975. Belgravia Gallery, London, UK.
Date Accessed: 03/20/2007
URL: http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images_132476_234841_andy-warhol.jpg


Warhol, Andy. John Lennon. 1985. Mugrabi Collection, New York, NY
Date Accessed: 03/20/2007
URL: http://www.artnet.com/magazine/features/polsky/Images/polsky3-20-7.jpg


Unknown Photographer.
URL: http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images/423838496/185942.jpg


Mapplethorpe, Robert. Image of Andy Warhol. 1986. The Robert Mapplethorpe FoundationURL: http://www.mapplethorpe.org/online/exhibitions/Kim/Pictures/BigImages/1867-Andy%20Warhol1986-dup.jpg


Warhol, Andy. “In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.”
URL: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Late Start Art 101 - Comments on Andy Warhol Video

March 6, 2007

In the documentary, " Superstar : The Life and Times of Andy Warhol ", Warhol is shown as having an introverted personality. Even though he was very quiet, he chose to work with people of diverse personalities. For many, Warhol was perceived to be a drug user, but the documentary portrayed the opposite view. He also brought a great deal of awareness about the world's current events through his artwork (Pop Art).

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Activity 5 - Theme Art Comparisons

March 3, 2006


The primary theme behind William H. Johnson’s painting, “Ambulance on the Go”, is “stories and histories”. A theme is an idea or concept used as a context for which an artwork was created. “Ambulance on the Go” was created under a historical context, specifically World War II. The painting, created in 1942, shows a series of ambulances, depicting the well-known logo of “The American Red Cross”. The “American Red Cross” has a long history of providing disaster relief to Americans during times of great need. At the time Johnson created this painting, it is known that the “American Red Cross” mostly provided numerous forms of relief to our armed forces overseas. Much of this relief came in the form of mobile medical care (ambulances)(1).
It can also be argued that the painting includes a “Here and Now” theme. For some people, World War II represented a tragic and violent time in American History (1939-1945)(1). For “The American Red Cross” it represented a time of great sacrifice, since the organization relied heavily upon a large number of volunteers (7.5 million) who sacrificed their time, energy, and sometimes lives (1). Johnson’s painting depicts a trail of ambulances that most likely were operated by volunteers. These are volunteers, “On the Go”, who chose to leave behind families, careers, and dreams. For them, this was life at that time and place.

In comparison to “Ambulance on the Go”, Winslow Homer’s painting, “The Dinner Horn” would also have a “Here and Now” theme, but for a different era (ca. 1870). The painting shows the lifestyle of operating a farm. In the painting we can see what appears to be distant animals and field workers, being called to dinner by a woman blowing a horn. For many people during this timeframe, farm life was very common. It meant working from sun-up to sundown, eating a good dinner, sleeping, and then preparing to repeat the cycle the next day. Although the “Here and Now” theme can be applied to both Johnson and Homer’s paintings, “Dinner Horn” depicts a simpler and less complicated lifestyle, time and place.

Finally, in contrast to, “Ambulance on the Go”, “Dinner Horn” appears to have a more realistic scene of nature. From the various colored leaves and blowing wind, we could believe this is the natural scene of an autumn day. Such a scene, lends itself to an “Art and Nature” theme.

American Red Cross Citation:
(1) American Red Cross website
URL: http://www.redcross.org/museum/history/ww2a.asp
Date Accessed: March 3, 2007

Monday, February 26, 2007

Activity 2 - Elements of Design REWRITE

February 25, 2007

“Ambulance on the Go” by William H. Johnson, a Harlem Renaissance painter, was created around 1942. The medium used is tempera, pen, and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper. The art piece is located at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The painting depicts a directional line of ambulances moving farther out towards the horizon. Directional lines guide our eyes in the painting and suggest movement. As we follow the trail of ambulances we can notice there is a linear perspective, where the farthest left-most ambulance is approaching a vanishing point. The term linear perspective means that objects seem to diminish in size as they recede from us and corresponding parallel lines converge into a distant point on the horizon (vanishing point). The farthest ambulance also appears to be foreshortened as it turns a slight curve in the road. Foreshortening occurs when objects appear shorter than normal, because they are shown at an angle in a two dimensional image.
In addition to linear movement, we can see many horizontal and vertical lines. More specifically, there are several cross-like shapes. Crosses can be seen in the red wheel spokes of the ambulances, red crosses contrasting against the white vehicle sides & blue backs, and brown crossed telephone poles contrasting against green fields.
Johnson also appears to use analogous color harmonies. An analogous color harmony is an arrangement of colors that are also adjacent to one another in the visible spectrum of colors. The most notable color harmony is the green fields against yellow flowers, yellow ambulance wheels and yellow houses.
Finally, the shadows underneath the wheels and body of the closer ambulances indicate there is an implied light source (perhaps the sun).


“Dinner Horn”, an oil painting on canvas, was created by Winslow Homer around 1870. The painting is located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Similar to William Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go”, this painting also uses directional lines and movement. This direction and movement is seen through the woman standing in the center of the painting. In one direction the woman is facing and blowing a dinner horn at workers in the field. However, her blowing dress implies wind movement in the opposing direction.
We can also see vertical lines in the edge of the house and window seal and diagonal lines in the house’s side boards & tree limbs. Unlike “Ambulance on the Go”, this painting contains a contour line which outlines the shape of the hillside closest to the house.
In terms of color, there are several analogous autumn earth tone colors. These colors can be seen in the brown, yellow, and red leaves blown at the woman’s feet (including the brown color of the house).
From an atmospheric perspective, we can see a receding landscape, where the field workers, animals, and trees are less distinct. Atmospheric perspective is an optical effect where a receding pale blue sky causes other intervening distant objects to be less distinct and take on a bluish tinge. As in Johnson’s “Ambulance on the Go”, the landscape also recedes into a blue sky.

Finally, the shadow underneath the blown dress and the shadow along the nearby hillside, indicates there is implied sun light, similar to the implied light in “Ambulance on the Go”

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Activity 4 - Principles of Design

February 13, 2006


William H. Johnson’s painting, “Ambulance on the Go”, uses several principles of design. These design principles include unity, variety, rhythm, and asymmetrical balance.
The most obvious principles are the unity and rhythm of the ambulances. The ambulances are all similar in shape, color and direction of movement. They have a tight formation marching along the road as if they are part a single of linked chain. This repetitive chain of ambulances reinforces the concept of rhythm in the painting. We also see a rhythmic line of yellow houses along the horizon. Again, there is even more repetition as we follow the line of telephone poles along the road. There are some unifying colors in the painting. The green fields seem to dominate the lower half of the painting and shades of blue dominate the upper half of the painting. Yet there still seems to be some colors of variety, with the yellow and red flowers speckled in the green field and yellow and red wheel spokes.
Finally, the painting appears to be asymmetrically balanced. Looking along the road in the direction of movement, on the right side of the road we see telephone poles, houses, and trees. On the left side we only see small flowers.


Winslow Homer’s, oil painting, “Dinner Horn”, displays the design principles of emphasis, subordination, asymmetrical balance, unity, and variety.
The main point of emphasis is the lone female standing in the center of the painting. She stands out because her bright dress and skin tone sharply contrasts with the darker hues in the background. The house, trees, shadowy hillside, and distant field are all subordinate to the lone female.
Also, the painting seems to be asymmetrical, primarily because the visual weight of the house draws some attention away from the female. The scene would appear more symmetrically balanced without the house and if a tree trunk on right balanced the left tree trunk as the woman stood in the center.
The entire painting implies a seasonal change to autumn. The wind blowing red, brown, and yellow leaves unifies the autumn scene of the painting. The dark earth tone color of the house (brown) further unifies this autumn scene. Although these colors give some unity, we can also see a lone patch of dirt that the female stands in, providing some variety. There also seems to be some strange variety of color in the blue leaves to the right of the woman.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Activity 2 - Artwork Essay Comparisons

February 11, 2007

Artwork #1 - "Ambulance On The Go"
by William H. Johnson



“Ambulance on the Go” by William H. Johnson, a Harlem Renaissance painter, was created around 1942. The medium used is tempera, pen, and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper. The art piece is located at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The painting depicts a directional line of ambulances moving farther out towards the horizon. As we follow the trail of ambulances we can notice there is a linear perspective, where the farthest left-most ambulance is approaching a vanishing point. The farthest ambulance also appears to be foreshortened as it turns a slight curve in the road. In addition to linear movement, we can see many horizontal and vertical lines. More specifically, there are several cross-like shapes. Crosses can be seen in the red wheel spokes of the ambulances, red crosses contrasting against the white vehicle sides & blue backs, and brown crossed telephone poles contrasting against green fields.
Johnson also appears to use analogous color harmonies. The most notably color harmony is the green fields against yellow flowers, yellow ambulance wheels and yellow houses.
Finally, the shadows underneath the wheels and body of the closer ambulances indicate there is an implied light source (perhaps the sun).



Artwork #2 - "Dinner Horn" by Winsolw Homer



“Dinner Horn”, an oil painting on canvas, was created by Winslow Homer around 1870. The painting is located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

This painting depicts direction and movement through the woman standing in the center of the painting. In one direction the woman is facing and blowing a dinner horn at workers in the field. However, her blowing dress implies wind movement in the opposing direction.

We can also see vertical lines in the edge of the house and window seal and diagonal lines in the houses side boards & tree limbs. A contour line also outlines the shape of the hillside closest to the house.

In terms of color, there are several analogous autumn earth tone colors. These colors can be seen in the brown, yellow, and red leaves blown at the woman’s feet (including the brown color of the house).

From an atmospheric perspective, we can see a receding landscape, where the field workers, animals, and trees are less distinct. Eventually, the landscape recedes into a blue sky.

Finally, the shadow underneath the blown dress and the shadow along the nearby hillside, indicates there is implied sun light.

Activity 1 - Online Museum Visit

Februrary 11, 2007


Artist: William H. Johnson
Title: “Ambulance on the Go”
Date: ca. 1942
Medium: tempera and pen and ink with pencil on linen adhered to paper
Size: 14 x 18 1/4 in.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.





Artist: Winslow Homer
Title: “The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)”
Date: 1870
Medium: Oil On Canvas
Location: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

First Day of Art Class - Februrary 5, 2007

Today we covered different line types (contour, direction, movement, implied,etc.), Implied Shapes, Implied Light and Pointillism.