Analysis Of Atteck's Forest And Sunset

Trinidad is often associated with ideals of beauty, nature, paradise, and tranquility. Painting is essential in capturing not only these depictions of beauty, but also the madness that was often concealed. Painting served as a form of reinventing and reimagining Trinidad as a tropical paradise, ready for consumption by tourists. However, painting also served as a form of expression that was also able to object these notions. Ironically, Edwin Ou Hingwan’s piece, Mouth of the River (Fig. 1), and Sybil Atteck’s Forest and Sunset (Fig. 2 ) were created during the year of 1975, but present highly contrasting images of Trinidad landscape. By comparing and contrasting Hingwan’s Mouth of the River 1975, and Atteck’s Forest and Sunset 1975, one can

Additionally, Forest and Sunset is unique in that it is composed of polytec on board. Atteck utilizes an abstract, expressionistic style to portray Trinidad in a non-exotic light. Rather than capturing an impression of Trinidad landscape like Hingwan, Atteck stylistically choses to use emotional experience to interpret the way she sees Trinidad. Most notable are the bold shapes and lines Atteck uses in her work to provide a distorted view of Trinidad. Melancholy and decay are evidenced through the distortion of what is supposed to be a landscape.The painting itself is almost primitive in that it has a child-like nature, and looseness in brush stroke. The landscape seems to be in movement because of the swaying, and exaggerated brushstrokes Atteck uses. There is no central focus on the painting because of all the geometric figures, and movement depicted. Atteck uses a vibrant range of colors. Despite the turbulent and conflicted message she may be conveying, the colors are lively and almost carnival-like. One of the colors that stands out the most is the red, and although the painting is scarcely painted red, it may be

Nature is one of the major subject matters explored by these Caribbean artists, especially Hingwan. One of the main elements representative of the picturesque are palms, which are emphasized all over Mouth of the River. Often, palms such as the royal palms were imported into these islands in order to attract tourists, and to add to the beautification of these islands. Although the hues are very vibrant and rich, the main colors seem to give off a cool toned appearance to the painting. Some of the cool-toned portions are almost transparent, so there is a misty/foggy-morning like aspect to the island. This is ironic because cool-toned colors are usually associated with scenes that depict melancholy such as Forest and Sunset, which uses more warm-toned colors despite the work’s message of disturbance. The vibrant and rich nature of the paint, though, may be indicative of the vibrant and rich culture and beauty of the island itself. The style of this painting is almost impressionistic in that it is able to capture a visual impression of a peaceful moment in Trinidad. Mouth of the River is very painterly in that the brushstrokes seem to be loose as well. The painting gives off a tranquil, and inviting image of Trinidad. The image itself is trying to convey a message of nature as a