Monday, December 8, 2014

Hand Grenade and Flowers, Do Not Draw the Bird Drawing


Just as the name implies, the painting above shows an assortment of flowers and a single grenade. The painting was done with the use of acrylics and markers on a 24 x 18 paper. The composition is asymmetrical with the bird and the grenade throwing it slightly off balanced. Various lines were incorporated into the picture, the most noticeable one being the contour lines of the bird. Contour lines were also used on the flowers and the grenade. A few inches to the left from the center of the paper, an implied line runs down the bottom half of the length. The flower assortments and strawberries gather in loose groups that slightly overlap each other. Tiny, black circles and thick curved lines are scattered around the flora. The color palette of the painting are made mostly of feminine, light colors as well as various shades of pink.
            The composition of the painting itself is dominated by flowers, giving the image an overall girlish appeal. While the flowers do not appear to adhere to any visible pattern, they are broken into loose groups, with the big petal, pink flower being the centerpiece of its corresponding group. The other figures surround it in loose clumps.  Most of them are of a feminine color, but there are tiny flowers, grenade, and beads that create a contrast within the composition. The darkness from the black flowers and the grenade juxtaposes with the overall light color scheme of the painting. There is little to no use of shading in the painting, save for the foreground. The background is mixture of feminine colors blended together, adding to the overall tone of the painting. The objects in the picture are all quite close to scale with its real life counterpart, but this was done simply to emphasize the attention to the flowers. The grenade, appearing to be the largest figure on the painting (discounting the bird), was done over the original black oval of the template. The size, color, and form serves to create an oddity in the composition.
            As for the underlying message of the painting, there isn’t any real solid one that I can say. When I had begun painting the picture, I was originally supposed to keep the picture simply as a loose pattern of various flowers done with acrylic and markers. But during the process, a line from a song that I had been listening to repeatedly had caught my attention. The lines go, “Your flowers are hand grenades.” With that thought in mind, I came to the realization that the ovular shape next to the bird did somewhat resemble a grenade. Liking how it would contrast with the overall feminine tone of the painting, I had gone ahead and added that new element. But if one would like to put an interpretation on it, it could be said that flowers do appear beautiful and are a symbol of peace and love. But depending on the person from who it is given, it could be an offering to a gateway of destruction. For instance, while roses are the flowers of romance, sometimes it’s associated with the womanizer and fickleness that would surely leave a trail of hurt.
            Overall, I did enjoy doing this project, simply because it allow the artist to come up with their own composition and choose their medium. While I felt that some parts of the painting did feel rushed and not thoroughly thought out, it did show me the importance of space and placing of a composition. If I were to have done anything differently, I would probably have been more careful when painting at borders. Even though this wasn’t really my best work and I’m not that good at making patterns, it was fun to get into the acrylics.    


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