Busy Stream Cradled Meadow
Shayna · Age 17 · Wicklow
“This is extraordinary”, this theme name reminds me of the poetry of famous, Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. A poem that comes to mind is ‘Canal Bank Walk’. Throughout the poem, Kavanagh expresses his admiration for the banal of nature. Using comparisons to religion and personifying the elements. Kavanagh transforms the habitual of a simple flowing stream into something idealistic. The essential meaning behind this poem is transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. This is what inspired me to paint this scene as I wanted to put emphasis on the beauty of simplicity. I painted a small wooden cabin with a shed on the side, surrounded by rich greenery near a busy stream. I wanted to keep my image raw and real so, I used painting knives to give my painting texture. At the front of the house. I added a “pathway” to make it appear like someone who lives there uses the “path” of grass regularly which has beaten down the grass, creating a makeshift pathway. There are streaming shades of turquoise throughout my painting to add fantasy to the realism of my inspiration. To turn my ordinary image in my mind into an extraordinary view on my canvas. Through my interest in maths, I have experimented on some of my paintings using the Fibonacci Sequence. The ideal rating for the Golden Ratio is 1.618, making an image seem somewhat “perfect”. Testing on ‘Busy Stream Cradled Meadow’ I received a rating of 1.57 this mathematical perspective gives to confirmation that my painting is close to perfect. These technical findings refer back to my I'm understanding of the theme, bringing idealism and extraordinary fantasy into a simple dimension of realism.
