Haley Hale

Certificate of the Arts

Hall of the Mountain King- Marsden Hartley

The Hall of the Mountain King was painted by Marsden Hartley with oil paint on canvas.

The subject of the painting is a hilly, mountainous region with clouds billowing at the top. The

colors are bright and vibrant, and there is a rough, bumpy texture from the paint being plopped

on the canvas. I think that the texture of the paint makes the painting come to life: it looks like

the grass is blowing in the wind. It makes the clouds look like they are moving in the wind. The

use of both the warm and cold colors contributed to the lifelike nature of the painting: it makes it

look like the sun is shining and wind blowing. As I walked into the exhibit, it immediately

caught my eye because of the liveliness of the painting. It was such an inviting painting. Overall,

Marsden Hartley succeeded in making an inviting seasonal piece that is very pleasing to the eye.

Along the Shore- William Trost Richards

Along the Shore was painted on canvas with oil paints by William Trost Richards. The

subject of the painting is a shoreline where waves are violently crashing onto rocks. Even though

the colors arent as bright and vibrant, I was still drawn to it because of the lifelike nature of the

waves. Amidst the cold colors of the waves, warms color, tones of yellow, are used to show the

sun peeking through the clouds. Richards painting is a very realistic painting. It looked in the

exhibit like the waves were crashing right out of the frame of the painting. I could see the waves

moving and crashing right there on the wall. It was like taking a trip to the beach without

actually going to the beach. It was a very relaxing painting to look at. Overall, William Trost

Richards succeeded in making an extremely lifelike painting that take the audience on a trip to

the ocean without having to leave the comfort of the seats in the exhibit.
 Hiroshima- Janet Sobel

Janet Sobel painted her piece Hiroshima on canvas with oil and enamel. The painting was

based off the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in Japan during World War II; furthermore, it tells a

story to the person looking at it. The artist succeeds in creating the havoc and confusion that

came in the aftermath of the bombings. The warm colors are being overtaken by the black. A face

can be seen in the top of the painting that is black and red. The black and red, in my opinion,

show the death and destruction that the people of Hiroshima and the surrounding areas faced. It

also looks like it has a grid pattern in the background which makes the background look like t

possibly could have been inspired by a map (the grid of a city from aerial view). I was drawn to

this painting because it was so different than anything I had seen. It was interesting to see

something so crazy and chaotic somehow come together and make one cohesive piece. Overall,

Janet Sobel made a painting with so many different pieces come together as one and tell a story.

Lunar Rendezvous-Circle of Flowers- Alma Thomas

Alma Thomas use oil paint and canvas to create her painting Lunar Rendezvous. Alma

Thomas appears to have used the same brush stroke the whole time she was painting because all

of the rectangles in the circle have relatively the same shape and size. It is like a mosaic with

paint. I was drawn to this painting because of the bright colors and the simplicity of the design.

Not only does Alma use the same shape for the circle, but she also continues the shape as her

background color. Upon research, I found out that what inspired Alma Thomas was the Earth

being separated from the moon, hence the name Lunar Rendezvous. The circular design and

colors almost create an optical allusion. It is like you can see the circles turning, separating the
two planets. She really knew how to bring her painting to life. Overall, Alma Thomas created

something beautiful and lifelike out of such a simple design.