Theora Hamblett was a resident of Oxford and a very gifted artist. She grew up in Paris, Mississippi and lived on a chicken farm which became the subject of a lot of her works.(ole Miss) She does a lot of landscape painting that include people, animals, and nature. She was basically a self-taught artist besides taking a few classes at the University(ole Miss). Theora Hamblett’s INSERT TITLE HERE, is a painting and paint is the medium used. The dimensions of this piece are INSERT SIZE HERE. The pointillist technique is used and Hamblett is known for using this technique in her other paintings as well. There are a variety of colors used in the piece including green, violet, blue, white, black, red-violet and yellow. There is a mix between warm and cool colors but the overall composition feels very warm and inviting.The warm colors mix with the cool colors gives the painting some extra depth. Color is very important to me when critiquing artwork because it has such a powerful effect on the mood. The mood of this piece is happy and joyful and she uses the right colors to help enhance that mood.Less than ten colors are used here, but the color palette is very bright and the colors stand out against each other. The four trees take up most of the composition and drawer the viewer in to see the circle of women standing underneath the trees.I would say the focal point of the piece is in the center of the circle of women, but I find that my eyes drift around the trees when I view it. The style or brush stroke to create the trees in her work is brilliant by far the best technique or style that she uses in the composition. While the trees are made of tiny dots, the women are simple shapes and solid figures. By making the women very simple its really directs your eye to the leaves on the trees. The edges of the trees are made up of implied lines. Contour lines are used to draw the people and the trunks of the trees, but not in the leaves. This painting is two dimensional yet it has depth and gives us the illusion of three-dimensions. The painting is organic because the setting is outside and there are no geometric lines used only natural objects. This is a realistic or naturalistic painting. There is not much value in this painting and everything is just a solid color. The grass has a row of vertical shading that fades to a lighter shade green every row above. This is the only showing of depth in the painting. The space in this painting is mostly positive space except for the blue sky and the green grass in the background with a horizon line almost in the middle of the page.
This painting fits in with the rest of Theora Hamblett’s painting style. The dots used for the trees are her paintings’ most distinct features and that is done in this painting. The composition is well balanced between the trees and the people, but the scale of the trees compared to the people is not proportional. There is radial symmetry used in the trees, and for the people. There is a lot of great texture in the painting especially in the leaves. You can really see that the paint is not smooth enhancing the overall composition with texture. The relationship between the size of the two works well though because of the use of the dots compared to the solid shapes. There is a pattern used in the trees to create the leaves. This piece is united and feels very complete. I don't get a sense of incompletion or that the painting could "use more". All of the principles of design used in this painting, such as composition, scale, positive and negative space, value, lines, and color, contribute to the success of this work. MAIN IDEA, MEANING OF THE WORK INSERT TITLE is a beautiful piece of artwork. Color palette is one of the most important criteria in judging artwork because it catches the eye and draws in viewers when used correctly. Hamblett chose colors that are bold next to one another for this painting. The second most important criteria in judging artwork are composition. Her trees, that she is known for, take up most of the space and draw the eye in. If the trees were not as big as they are, the composition would not be as pleasing. The quality of Hamblett’s painting is good. Her technical skills do not seem to be very difficult but her craftsmanship is executed well. I believe i am attracted to this painting more because i also grew up in the deep south. I feel a connection to her settings and the setting I grew up in. I grew up with horses and other animals on my land, and i spent many days outside playing on my property. I also am very religious and I believe that the women forming a circle in the middle of the paint could be in worship. That is the feeling i get when I see it, and I know that Hamblett is also a very religious person. With spring approaching this painting gives me that feeling of life, trees are starting to bloom again and people are going to be spending more time outside. This paint makes me feel comfortable and gives me a sense of joy. The colors used are very inviting almost to the point that I wish I was there because it is so warm, and very cold outside today. Her techniques seem very simple yet they work so well in all of her paintings in this collection. They all bring me back to my childhood which is not much different then hers.