The Vegetable or the Arteries?

The Vegetable or the Arteries?

Wandering around the Tointon Gallery in the Union Colony Civic Center I found a series of three painting by an artist that made an impression upon me. Upon wandering farther another set of paintings caught my eye, done in the same style as the first. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the paintings were done by a different artist. This is when I knew these were the painting I would have to write about.

The first set of paintings entitled Temple's Cave, Temple's Escape, and Temple's Flight were the works of Victoria Yamanoha, done in acrylic. Her choices of colors were bold and dynamic, using a mixture of green, red, purple, tan, and yellow. The brushstrokes used on all three paintings were broad and bold, creating an almost uneasy feeling of the paintings. It seemed almost as if there was an explosion happening while you looked at the painting.

The second set of paintings entitled Untitled For Tameira were the works of Andrew Jeffers, also done in acrylic. The choice of colors in these paintings were a bit more subdued, with a mixture of brown, grey, yellow, and some orange blended together, altogether creating an earthy feel to the works. Brushstrokes on these were soft and blended, creating a more calming atmosphere.

The composition of the first set resembled the second set in some ways, but upon further examination almost resembled the interior of human arteries and blood vessels more than a vegetable. While I enjoyed looking at the paintings, I didn't necessarily want to hang these in my living room to look at every day. They were un-soothing to the eyes, making you want to move on quickly to another display.

The second set of paintings by comparison were much more enjoyable to view, colors pleasing to the eyes and soothing to the nerves of the viewer. This reminded me heavily of a bell pepper that had been sliced, or even a pumpkin. Every detail was accurate, from the flesh of fruit to the tiny seeds. I had a hard time tearing my eyes away from these paintings and had the set been available for purchase might have found myself with new art for my bare living room walls.

Overall I was struck by how similar yet different these two sets of paintings were, mirroring one another in many ways, yet subtly different in others. The biggest shock for me however was the fact that two totally different

...