winslow homer

i am not a big fan of winslow homer. his paintings (mostly watercolor) and techniques seem the same to me, the same contrast between light and dark, the same landscape/marine theme, as if once you've examined one painting, you've examine them all. there aren't a lot of narratives in them, and i think his paintings fit better when the subject matter sits still and moody and introspective, instead of a pause in the action.

homer is also imperfect in his works. in "the wall at nassau" for instance, he changed his mind mid-painting and scrapped a significant portion of the canvass to eliminate two other boys sitting on the wall. but he did the scrapping-out so casually that you can still clearly notice the painted-over portion. it wasn't until after i saw his few other paintings that i realized homer was ACTUALLY trying to paint imperfectly, that his focus was to draw our attention to some little details of that particular work, and not the bigger picture.

with that as your background info, i present you some of winslow homer's works that i liked best:

the first, finished in 1877, is called "the new novel." it's watercolor on BIG canvass. include, also, is a closer view of the painting.



notice how soft her hands were, how flushed her face, how rapt her attention. notice also the use of contrasting deep red color against the lighter red, employed very sparingly, on her coat on her book on her lips especially, as if luring our eyes there. (the red on lips is the "little things" i mention before.) now, if i were in 18th century, being myself big dork and sappy nerd, seeing a girl relishing a quiet moment immersed in a book, - i'd totally be in love with her...

next is called "the andirondak guide."


as you can see, it's very pretty. hehe. (i dunno how else to comment on it.)

there's also another painting, called "the fisherman" (i think... - coz i can't find an image of the painting anywhere on the internet.) it's oil on medium-size canvass, of a semi-closeup of a old fisherman in his little boat on a little lake, looking back at us. the most fascinating about that particular piece, its "little detail", is the glint in the fisherman's eye. homer painted the whole thing on bright white canvass, and then later used a sharp knife to poke a very very tiny yet noticeable enough hole on the fisherman's eye (he reportedly spent a lot of time on this tiny detail, fussing about the right sharpness of the knife, and what enough pressure to place on it), revealing a startlingly bright glint.

i remember standing in front of the painting for a long time, just looking at the eyes, mesmerized by the glint.

i came back home that night, exhausted from my five-hour excursion of the arts institute, but feeling awed, inspired, fulfilled.

if only i can convince a girl to tag along with me...

(i went to Paradise and touched the face of angels, but i hold no one's hands to share the joy with...)