Blog Assignment #2 Two Painting Ideas.

This painting is titled "The girl I left behind me" and it is by Eastman Johnson. It was made around 1872 and it is oil on canvas. Compositional the girl is the main focal point, but our eye also travels through the background because of the highlights and deep shadows of the stormy landscape in the background. The tone of this painting is dramatic, stormy and sad. While the girl is not weeping she holds her books and looks wistfully into the distance. The title also gives us a sorrowful feeling of this maiden being left behind. In viewed closely this painting has a fair amount of texture which works very well to create the stormy sky and land in the background as well as adding life to the clothing which is being tossed in the wind. *Interesting note; "The girl I left behind me" is also a Civil War fife and drum tune, this painting may have been influenced by that song. 

This painting is titled "Miss Millicent Baron on Magpie" and it is by Sir Alfred Munnings. It is oil on canvas and was painted in 1929. This painting has an interesting composition with the horse and rider in the lower left corner, embracing the "rule of thirds". Even though the composition includes a lot of sky it works well because the horse is framed by the trees in the background. This painting has a high key value which makes it look like early morning. The brush strokes are interesting to look at in this painting. While the brush strokes on the horse and rider are detailed, smooth and precise, the brush strokes forming the background are heavier, less exact and create texture. This is effective because it draws the viewer to the horse and rider (the main focal point) and blurs the background to create a good sense of depth.