Shimul - The Goose and the Golden Eggs
The inspiration for this piece is the classic Aesop fable, The Goose and the Golden Eggs. Because my investigation is based on fairytales and stories, I read this fable then attempted to create my own interpretation of it. The story tells of a goose that produces eggs of solid gold. The farmer and his wife that own the goose become overcome with greed and believe that, if they cut the goose open, they will get more gold. However, when they killed the goose, they found out that there was nothing within the goose but what would be in an ordinary goose. To depict the greed of the farmer and his wife, I used a stark, blood red coming from the heart of the goose. The red is contrasted by the primarily cool colors surrounding the rest of the piece. Also, I used gold liquid metal to show the gold in the story. To make my piece have a storybook feel, I used ink upon a parchement-like color and tried to use intricate lines.
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12 comments:
I like the use of the concentration and the take on the fable. Like fables, which are passed from generation to generation the parchment look of the paper gives a rustic and warn appearance. The colors were selected and positioned well as they carry the eye around the page, the red shows great symbolism of the death of the goose. The images done with the ink are so detailed they stand out and emphasize what is important. I think also the little detail you put in the background serves for a nice way to allow the on-looker to create the scene, like in a story.
I agree with Karinda that the asymmetry of the piece brings your eye around the page. At first it appears very random but if you look closer, it’s organized chaos. The direction the goose is facing corresponds with the composition since the eggs are on the right too. The intricate details of the shelf holding up the goose egg matches how the watercolor is outlined in marker and achieves the story-book feel that was attempted. I also like the bright color tones and their juxtaposition to the faded parchment style paper. The use of cool and dark hues was well executed and helps to balance out the piece.
I like how the colors don't stay within the lines as it creates more movement within your piece. I also like how the gold has been incorporated throughout the whole piece yet the focus remains on the crucial part of the story: the golden eggs. It also nice how the eggs are tucked away in the corner while the goose is front and center. I think that you really show how important the goose was and how the farmer and his wife gave up a lot for nothing.
Amber uses the term, "organized chaos" in her comment, and I felt that it was an interesting way of looking at this piece. Her approach to this piece by anaylzing the movements and cohesive elements of this piece really help bring out a different side of this piece; because by focusing on the repetition in the intricate inking style and direction of movement in this piece, the fairy tale effect Shimul was attempting to achieve becomes so much more evident.
I like the combination of the loose painting style in the background with the tight inking of the rest of the piece. I think this shows your evolving approach to your work.
Karinda, I like the idea that you brought up about the old parchment. That was a very interesting aspect to the piece that I never thought of. I agree with you in all of the aspects that you pointed out in Shimul's artwork, from the ink to the red paint. All of these things are easily caught with the details about the artwork. Good job Shimul!
You used a variety of materials, which was a risk, but they worked very well together. This piece also shows your techniques in multiple media with the use of ink and water color. The only suggestion I have is to manipulate the composition a little more. Though movement is provided by the strokes of watercolor, it would be cool to put a smaller, additional corner design opposite the first.
Amy mentions how movement is achieved through the piece by not coloring in the lines which I highly applaud. Though a simple idea to me, I feel that takes a lot of precision to make it look intentional rather than mediocre.
One of the things I noticed most was the background looking almost like parchment. As fairy tales are passed down from historical times, I feel this was an excellent choice to contrast your foreground consisting of the goose. Though as much as I love the realism with the bird, different positions would have have presented more motion with the actual animal.
As someone who's done her fair share of researching on fairy tales, I have to say that you've done this one justice. I love how you tied the color scheme in the middle with the corner design; it's so subtle yet it makes such a difference. Amber had used a very interesting term to describe your piece, and I felt that it was very fitting. The 'organized chaos' applied here was well executed, and having used this technique before, it's so easy to hit or miss the mark. & you've obviously hit it.
I really have no suggestion here except maybe what Marcus had suggested, different poses with the bird would have made the composition even more interesting.
I'm greatly impressed with how you were able to use seemingly random brush strokes and composed them in such a way that your resulting piece ended up looking very sophisticated. Though Morgan suggested that perhaps another border opposing the one already existing would have added to the movement of the viewer's eye, I must admit that leaving the left side open allows the setting to be more free feeling and gives the viewer more wiggle room to create a setting that seems fitting to them. Though an opposing border would probably look nice, I just think that it would constrict the piece too much when fairy tales are anything but restricting. Overall, the composition really makes the picture flow and created a very successful piece.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.
Morgan, in response to your suggestion of a border, it's actually kind of funny because I considered adding a corner border on the left side. However, I decided that closing in the bottom left corner with a similar, intricate border would make the piece too much like a storybook illustration. While that was the feel that I was going for, I wanted this to remain a work of art. When I was finished with the piece, I felt that the action presented by the mixture of lines was enough to balance off of the other side. The direction of those lines extending off to the lower left was an intentional act meant to play off the opposite corner. So, while I understand what you're getting at, I personally feel that a border might have added nothing to the piece.
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