Joan Brown’s piece titled Girl Sitting 1962 depicts a nude female body in a sitting pose. This colorful piece was made in 1962 and can be found in the Oakland Museum of California. Located on a white wall within a thin black frame that is five by four feet tall, the painting is composed of oil paints on a canvas. The subject is positioned toward the left; therefore, leaving a big empty space on the right. Overall, several factors contribute to deliver an effective impression toward individuals who feel small when looking at the work.
Brown constructs her artwork by utilizing an impasto style, a technique that purposely has paint applied to replicate the appearance of clumped textures--, allowing the piece to inhibit characteristics that appear lively. The texture showcases the technique of the artist’s brushwork and palette knife application. If one came close to the figure’s stomach, where the seafoam green layer is found, one can see the strong mark impressions of the paint strokes …show more content…
Because this piece is in an impasto style, each brush stroke created a sense of movement within the painting and poked out of canvas, allowing the piece to inhibit characteristics that appear lively. And because the body of the figure is light, whereas the background is dark, the contrast between the two creates the illusion of depth. And because the size of this piece is five feet by four feet, and eight feet above ground, it would tower over an individual, making one feel small due its big scale. Overall, there is a form of unity through the composition, application elements, colors, and size throughout the painting to make one feel small and one needs to be there in order to grasp the feelings of it