The first painting I am going to focus on Big Bird by Fred Tomaselli. He created the painting in 2004. It shows a beautiful design of the nature. It also shows some surreal details hidden in the background. Both of these design all merged together revealing a beautiful drawing.
In the foreground of the painting, it shows a bird on a tree branch. The tree branch looks flat in the painting. The leaves upon the tree branch look something similar to illustrated young oak leaves with blunted ends. Some of the leaves on the branch are in olive color darkening into black with a touch of a yellow color that is a split between gold and goldenrod and others have the similar colors but more in the color olive green dark turning into brown. Also not only on the tree there are flowers that is a similar type to Clematis Festoon Bonanza, mauve-blue flowers with yellow stamens. The flowers look like illustrated daisies in the color of ultramarine blue and with a yellow center. Both the leaves and the flowers were connected to a branch that looks realistic having the texture revealed by the varies of shading of brown that varies from brown, brown ochre and sienna with a little bit of lighting with the use of light goldenrod, yellow, and melon yellow. The whole branch and its attachments are contradicting each other. The leaves turning brown or black represent autumn, while the bloomed flowers represent the spring. The branch show a hint of light which means it is in a place during the daylight, while the background is of the night.
The bird stands out the most in the painting with its mosaic texture except its legs. The tail feathers and the back of the neck and halfway down the back it is painted with the colors of Indian red, English red, light salmon, black, white, orange, orange red and aureoline yellow. On the crown or the top part of the head, it fades from the back of the neck into cadmium lemon, green and the shades of orange from the back. The beak is a mix of cadmium lemon and light orange. The wings are composed of the different shade of slate blue, light violet, white, spots of orange red, spots of crimson red, floral white ivory, and antique white. The belly of the bird has the same colors of white shades in the feather with splotches of blanched almond, light melon and light goldenrod. The crown of the bird and the tail feather gives an effect of tiny rays coming from it. The bird outshines the background and the branch.
The background has a base of black decorated with white specks which could be depicted as snow or stars. Along with the white specks, there are things similar to snow flakes glowing in the dark. They come in shades orange, white, green, and red. It might be stars. There is also a circular object towards the left of the bird’s neck. It has a wire spiral in the color of Mars yellow and orange red rays. It could have represents the sun. It also contradicts with the base of the back ground in the same way as the tree branch. It shows that there is some form of light coming out of the darkness. It adds to the picture some interstellar effect making the background surreal to the foreground and the leaves to the flower or the other way.
The next painting is the Doppelganger Effect created by Fred Tomaselli in the same year as the first. It is the most interesting piece of art. It shows how Tomaselli thinks of doppelganger effect.
The background of the painting is black. In some way, it might be relative to space. The main object and the foreground of the painting are the lines or the strings that hung from the top of the painting down to the bottom. On each of the strings it is filled with beads or rock shaped objects. Each line of beads had at least one colors in its various shade. In the beads it alternate in different order none the same. There is the color of red, blue or violet, orange, and others more. There are some with the same colors all throughout the string like the beaded maroon color string about the sixth string inward from the left side of the painting or the floral white beads that look a lot like strings of pearls in various location of the painting.
It is also showing the doppelganger effect in a perspective view directly looking inwards to the center. The colors in each strand can be seen near the edges, but going towards the center, strands intertwined with each other. It is like it is wild vines uncontrollable and unclear. The strings might even be connected. One might never predict what is in the cluster.
As Hatsumomo is now gone, I can never seem to remember that her existence is not her anymore. Being accustomed to having Hatsumomo torment us, it took us a long while to release the tension of her existence on us. I was busy with engagement, meeting General Tottori from time to time, and perform dance. I was so tired spending each day entertaining others. Each day go by and nothing has changed. The General had sent many supplies of tea, sugar, cosmetics, chocolate, and other scarce merchandise during the war time. He found doctors for use when we were sick. He was able to provide what we need to survive during those days. Though I did not get lavishing gifts of jewels or kimonos, he provides use with thing that the other danna can give during war time. We were grateful for what he gives us. Our okiya prosper much through the goods given to us.
Mother was pleased by the profits we get from my danna Mother did not need to worry much through the war time with General Tottori backing us up. Her silk sack of tobacco was always full. Mother concern about me more, since she did not want to lose me or prevent our current state to plummet. The okiya depended mostly on me to profit. Pumpkin, still lost without Hatsumomo, also brings money in the okiya, but she did not earn as much as I do. My relationship with Pumpkin did not change. She still does not look at me in the eye and giving me the respect like what she gives to Mother.
Time had passed by smoothly. I have not seen Nobu ever since that meeting after he shut the door in front of me. Nobu was furious that I did not choose him to be my danna. Mameha said that Nobu and I have an en, but after that I no longer believe that we have an en. The Iwamaru Company had never asked for my service after that. I wonder if I would be able to meet the Chairman ever again. I doubt I might be able to, since that incident. I would never be able to Nobu nor would I ever see the Chairman again. I always imagine General Tottori as the Chairman because he had the same kind of dignity. I can not get the image of the Chairman out of my mind. Though I longed for him to notice me, he never came and never paid any attention to me. Maybe he had forgotten the little girl, which he had given coins to before he went to the theatre. I can not meet him ever again because that fate was not meant to be similar to my fate to be with Nobu.
Art to Freedom
I am finally free and bound by nothing. So many colors and so many shapes that make the beauty of this world imprinted into the wide sketching paper. It draws out beauty the eyes of people. Each mark of the HB pencil etched into the paper shows my heart to the world.
When I was young, my mom brought home a book of paintings. It was a seaweed green covered book dull to the eyes, but insides were the paintings of various artists in vibrant and vivid colors. Landscape after landscape and still-life interested me. As a first generation Asian American, my parents wanted me to work on my intellect. They thought mostly about the future of my brothers and me. Being the only daughter in the family, I had to take on the responsibility of learning how to do housekeeping and competing with my brothers, whose grades were better than mine.
My parents’ old-fashioned view was that a girl must know how to clean, cook, and be obedient to her parents. I managed some of those chores to please my parents. Constantly compared to my brothers, I grew up trying to follow their footsteps.
I never thought of art as a skill of academics until my brother told me about it. Not long before the end of my freshmen year, my brother and I were sitting in the living room. Our dad had already commented about both our report cards and told us to do better next time. Dad went to work and my brother and I were looking at each other’s report card. Afterwards my brother said to me after looking at my quarterly grades, “Wendy, why don’t you take Studio because you have been always good at art since third grade? You can learn more ways to improve your drawing skill.” My brother helped me realize my interest in art. Not everything I do needs to be by the books, but also by what I experience and try out.
Stepping into the art room for the first time in high school fascinated me. The room itself was like an enormous painting. The walls were painted, reproducing different artists’ works. My art teacher told us in class that, “If you could draw a circle, triangle, and a square then you can paint.” Art itself shows me not to look at the world though the eyes of others, but to observe it with my own. Art lets me experience different things to test out what is right for my own style and follow my own trend. It gave life to my own imagination and my own true thoughts. For once, I am walking on my two feet knowing that the path I chose is my very own.
The different artists that created the art world inspired me. Leonardo da Vinci inspires me. The Mona Lisa inspires me. It stares at me from every corner of the room. It is so real, yet it is two dimensional. It is as if the real Mona Lisa is watching us through the painting. It makes me want to feel reality coming from a flat surface, popping out as if there is actually life to it. It is alive and moving yet not moving at all.
I was once the same as a painting. I wanted to free myself of my brother’s shadow. I want to become different. Like a painting, I am popping out from the normal view of others as a painting pops out from perspective views of the audience.
