During the trip to the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) exhibit one painting stood out to me from the rest. I was primarily drawn to it because of the vibrant color scheme but as I approached it, I noticed the intricate details and the technique that the artist used to create it. The colors included lots of warm, bright shades arranged in patterns and shapes. At a closer look the shapes were filled with lighter pigmented dots, lines, and figures that created patterns within the bigger shapes. It reminded me of aboriginal artwork that was initially made by the Indigenous peoples of Australia. Dot paining was a popular form of Aboriginal art that included colors like yellow, brown, red, and white, which represented the sun, the soil, the desert, and the clouds. They used mostly natural, plant derived pigments to create vibrant colors and they used primitive tools, like specially sharpened sticks, to create dotted shapes and patterns. Because of the detailing and the technique I assumed that this artist was largely influenced by Australian aboriginal artwork.

It was also interesting and surprising to find out that the painting was entitled “Tsunami.” The combination of bright colors didn’t seem to reflect the devastation and destruction associated with this natural phenomenon.  But as I considered it, the shapes in the painting reminded me of overlapping waves crashing into each other and breaking apart as they hit the shore. The bright colors possibly represent the overwhelming and confusion caused by a tsunami. I noticed that this painting was placed deliberately with paintings of nature and other abstract paintings that demonstrated large use of color.  I found that the placement of paintings worked well to complement one another.

Elise Meredith Beattie

“Tsunami”