Art History Inspired

River

13"x9"

American Realism and Fauvsim

For my idea, I wanted to keep the subject of Thomas Eakin's water scenery and sports theme, but use the unnatural colors from fauvism. I knew I wanted the water to be the most vibrant and colorful. I wanted it to be a realistic setting, but add vibrant colors for plants and water that wouldn't naturally be these colors. For example, the leaves on the trees are bright pink, and the trees itself are green, but a very vibrant and unnatural green. The water is very evident; purples, pinks, yellows and more. I also noted the environment of the time period when American Realism came to be. When doing my research, I found that during this art movement, the industrial revolution was taking place. In Thomas Eakin's pieces, he often had objects such as city buildings and big bridges that illustrated his surroundings living during this time. This is why I added smoke stacks, like those that would be found near by rivers such as the one in my piece. The air shows contamination as I used blacks and browns to show the contamination and dirt in the smokey air. I added this to bring not only the art aspect but also the historical parts of American Realism.

The materials I used throughout my piece changed from what I originally thought I was going to use. At first, I wanted to use charcoal and add the pop of color to add the Fauvism aspect. I then saw the bright colors of the oil pastels and transitioned to using those and then adding ink details for realistic aspects. I also used touches here and there of colored pencil to fill in any gaps left open my the pastels. I used my fingers to create various gradients and create the flow of the water. I am most proud of the water because I love the colors and I'm really happy I chose Fauvism to display the colors in the piece.

My piece not only changed materials as I worked on it but also changed within the scenery. For example, I began adding mountains and hills in the back to create a sense of depth that the river would have. I also added rocks up front to add more detail to the surrounding environment. I also added details to the man's face to add detail to his expression and figure. I am very happy with how this turned out because I really like how the materials look together.