This picture was painted by my roommate’s soccer teammate, Allison Ester. The portrait is called “Under My Umbrella”. I was attracted to this painting for two reasons. First of all, the warm beach theme, and second of all, the bright and vibrant colors.
For me, the beach is an “escape” and reminds me of summer and spending time with my family. The tepid orange horizon and clear light blue waters fascinated me because it made me want to be sitting in a beach chair, warm in the sun with my toes in the hot sand. The painter is a student at UNC Wilmington, so for her, this painting of the beach represents a safe haven and a comfortable environment. Her uses of the bright colors throughout the umbrellas symbolize the beach being an entertaining and playful place, and make the audience want to play fun beach sports such as paddleball or beach soccer. Another reason Allison used vibrant colors throughout her painting is because they are pleasing to the eyes. When people think of the beach, they think of bright and fun colors, not boring and bland ones. She used different patterns, shapes, and colors on the umbrellas to signify the variety of people who come to the beach, and she put all of the umbrellas close together to represent how the variety of people come for the same reasons, to spend time together and to enjoy the beauty of nature.
Nevertheless, the painting may have a hidden meaning. When I looked at the painting for the first time, all I saw was bright colors and all I felt was happiness. But when I studied the painting again and truly looked at the umbrellas, I noticed the use of the color black. The artist filled the small empty spaces between the umbrellas with black. The painting is called “Under My Umbrella” and I suppose the black could represent how the umbrellas “cover” and “shade” the people and items underneath them from the onlookers. No matter how pretty something may seem on the exterior, you never know what is lurking underneath. I found it interesting that the focal point of the painting was the light blue and dark blue striped umbrella. The uses of the curved stripes make the umbrella seem almost like a target and beg the audience’s eyes to look and see what is underneath. However, rather than having a negative connotation, I believe this painting was meant to be relaxing, positive, and to take the audience’s mind to a better place.
I am not sure how large the painting is because I have never seen it in person, but hopefully one day I will. I feel as though when I have a house of my own (preferably at the beach), I will want to fill the walls with paintings similar to this because of the sense of comfort, affection, and warmth. Even though the artist is young, I am impressed with her work and the feeling of sincerity and longing of summer she was able to place upon me.
-Anna Toole
The colors are fun, but the use of black for those empty spaces does seem like a problem.
ReplyDeleteI happen to like empty beaches, so the painting makes me a little claustrophobic.
Hmm...Arnold would probably say we are being much to "personal" in our estimates. Too bad for him.