Conversions

Conversions by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: surrealism
size: 10" x 10"
medium: oils on canvas
date: February 10, 2009

influence: Pablo Picasso's Guernica.

technique: I began this painting with nothing. No ideas as far as concept or composition, nor did I have any other plan. I began by painting a base using various cool colors, mainly blues. White was the basis of form creating a cold aura. Most of the colors were obtained from the background colors being picked up in white. Concept then leaped onto the canvas, everything erupted from there.

theme and reasoning: To me, the painting is about the dissatisfaction the man holds. He's unhappy with what the world is turning into, with industry and money being the main focus and completely taking over. Guernica was a constant thought during the process. Picasso's take on the world, the "what are we doing to ourselves", is a similar theme in this work. His sign of hope is translated into Conversions slightly in that of the red balloon.

concept: Money is the driving force of today's world. It commands and controls everything around us, positive and negative. Here, the man is on the brink of toleration. He sits on the edge contemplating what is going on around him, he turns his back on society, big business, the metropolitan city that we have created. The cityscape, positioned on the man's tongue, gradually recedes back into the mouth. As this happens, the city gets smaller, more simple and natural. This part of the city is closest to him, it's what he misses most but he knows we can not revert to our old ways of modesty. I chose the mouth to position this scene as it shows that 'bad taste in your mouth'feeling. We've corrupted the world and there isn't any going back. As he knows the fate of our greedy society, he realizes the damage that has been done, but the red balloon rises. Contrasting with the cold hues of blue, the only sign of hope commands the painting. The statement of such a small focal point was not accidental. The balloon is the minute optimism lingering within. He looks down as he struggles to put forth a vulnerable gullibility required to believe in today's society, yet the balloon rises. Picasso adds this element into Guernica, a flower growing up through the chaos of fear and war.

This painting was sold to a woman in Tennessee.