Sunday, September 28, 2008

Wish You Were Here


Title: In the City
Size: 8 x 7"

Media: Acrylic and Collage on Museum Board

Location: Center City Philadelphia, PA










My mixed media construction reflects some feelings about the environment that I call home. I live in surroundings that include a dramatic variety of old and new architecture, small neighborhoods, parks and open spaces, streets, highways bound together by two rivers.

18 comments:

aRae said...

Hi youve captured the landscape and enviroment realy well..i had a great sence of where you are..strong architectural influences yet intertwined with beautifull colour and definate areas of stillness.
nice work..
amanda

Margaret Joan MacIsaac said...

Your work reminds me of Beasts of the Sea by Henri Matisse, it's not so much the look of it but the feeling that it evokes, i like it very much.

norcrossl said...

THe colors are so vibrant and universally pleasing. I like the "figure 8" shape that seems to represent the tying of the diverse areas around you together.

lebuck8 said...

The bright colors and interesting line patterns convey your idea well. Very abstract, but very clear.
Lauren B.

gracki said...

I love this piece. It is very architectural and dimensional! Your color pallet also reminds me of fall and sense of warmth and comfort. Thank you for sharing this piece!

tovias8 said...

This is an absolutely stunning piece of art. I love the colors are so expressive and happy, and the lines you employed are a very calming contrast to the vibrancy of the hues. Great work!

Anonymous said...

I wish I was there, too. It is a place of light, and order and color.

Christy Hahn said...

Michael,

This is the first (and maybe only) representational piece as far as imagery is concerned. It's a totally different perspective because it's non-figurative. It's "home" in its simplest forms - shapes, lines, curves. Great color choices, also.

favorite things said...

This is the first abstract piece I've seen for this project. The colors are beautiful and composition pleasing but I do not personally relate to the sense of place in this piece.

Bryan said...

This has a very native (in the sense that you know the place quite well and have very particular feelings for the place) feeling to it. I think this observation might also be in line with the comment about Matisse as he made astutely native work. Quite nice.

~ Bryan

Sam said...

I like the movement in this piece. The colors are really vibrant. There is so much going on. I appreciate the abstracted view of the landscape.

jmkilburn said...

This is a very brightly colored space, a very architectural piece without getting caught up in details and leaving one with a feeling of floorboards, wainscotting (sp?), wall boards and tiling. Color does much of the communication here... the blus and white shapes in the upper right corner evoke 'sky' and 'cloud' without much effort; the red and continuing linework speak of 'roof' without bothering with gutters and ventilation, etc. The bisection of the piece to include the sunshiny orange-yellow is remarking on the interior of the artist rather than the interior of the structure, and is loaded with symbology... the infinity symbol with tree-like linework inside the top and bottom halves is great - growth all directions! The egg shapes also speak of life, either 'tightly-wound' or the paisley-esque 'freeform' pattern. I wish I had done this!

Amy said...

I love the image and the abstract design The colors are great, very warm and pleasing to look at.

Christy Hahn said...

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your thoughtful comment regarding "Sanctuary". I am an observer by nature, so looking into a crystal ball is a great metaphor for my life! I'm never quite sure what's going to happen in my life, or my art work for that matter, but I love adventure and enjoy the unpredictable. I also enjoy the theme of "transformation" and like pondering the in-between moments of consciousness.

June Julian said...

The strength, clarity and purity of your compositions remind me of the work of the great designer, Milton Glaser

Unknown said...

This one is my favorite! I love your style and concept.

jmkilburn said...

Thank you for your comment on my WYWH. I agree that there is an inherent 'cost' of city living, but I never felt in Boston what I did when I moved here. I lived there for 8 years, and here for 5 now. It's still there, I just live in a more protected neighborhood now. I used to see so much bad stuff... people urinating in alleys and behind cars, people trying to intimidate you while you walk your dog, kids smashing car windows... nothing like that in Boston, man.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your work; it has such a wonderful quality with great pattern and color. I would love to see them in person. Well done.