Beverly Buchanan's "Monroe County House with Yellow Datura", a two-dimensional portrait for which the medium is oil pastel on paper. The materials used are paper, oil based paint, and the paintbrush, of course.My interpretation of Ms. Buchanan's painting is a portrayal of a house as the main subject matter, with oversized Yellow Daturas as the secondary subject matter. The setting is in a yard or meadow full of flowers and plants. The painting is simple in its beauty and charm, as if painted by a child. My thoughts are that from a cultural narrative perspective, this house is somewhere in the Midwest or south and certainly in a rural area. Based on the title and further investigation into the picture, I learned that the painting is of a house in Georgia, and that Beverly Buchanan is far from a child, with an extensive curriculum vitae.
The visual qualities consist of a full bloom, late summer afternoon or early evening that depicts an open air setting. There is effective use of balance as the house is set in the middle of the painting with sharp, dark colors and objects, with clear lines and contours. I noticed the various colors (purple, red, brown and yellow) that a child would use to differentiate the various parts of the house.
Ms. Buchanan effectively uses linear perspective through the use of sharp, detailed lines to capture the main subject matter (the house). Through the use of convergence, I gained a sense of depth, particularly her painting of the lines on the roof of the house.
I noticed the use of value in the painting as the flowers in the foreground are bright, offsetting the multiple, dark colors of the house. I gained a sense atmospheric perspective in the house being sharp in its rendering while the flowers in the meadow are blurred. The meadow seems very much impressionistic with blended colors lacking clarity. It reminded me of Monet’s “Garden at Argenteuil.”
When I look at the Yellow Daturas, it almost appears as if Ms. Buchanan uses the illusion of foreshortening, as the flowers are much larger than their true scale. That is, the flowers are disproportionate to the rest of the painting. I never heard of Yellow Datura before, and my research disclosed that in all photos the flower is not as brilliant in color as portrayed in the painting. The flowers are very vivid with deep yellow hues and a richness of color and quickly gained my attention.
I believe this painting is to remind the viewer of their childhood memories based on the “child-like” artistic rendition. However, for myself, it brought me to a memory of a trip where my husband and I took our seven year old daughter to the south. We came upon a similar setting, both in style of home and landscaping. Our daughter had such a wonderful time frolicking through the meadow. The picture instantaneously brought a smile to my face of beautiful memories of a family trip I will never forget.
