No Place to Go, by Maynard Dixon was painted approximately by 1935. The painting belongs to the American Impressionism. Which is a style of painting developed in the last third of the 19th century, characterized chiefly by short brush strokes of bright colors in immediate juxtaposition to represent the effect of light on objects. (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/impressionism). In the painting we observe a man at the top of a hill. His head is tilted downward and his composition is darkened. As the beholder moves his eye to the left, the altitude of the painting drops into a dark valley. The ocean that lies beyond the darkened valley is lit up by the setting of the sun. The painting transitions from a sunset lit hill, to a dark valley, and then to an ocean that fades into the horizon. Also, we have to mention that the painting is two dimensional.
The man in the painting is the dominant focus (this would be the focal point); his downcast face and defeated stance immediately tell of his difficult situation. The man has made a long journey due to the knapsack on his back, and he was looking for better circumstances because of the slight shabbiness and worn-out quality of his appearance.
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The use of color and light in the painting also contribute to the tones of disappointed hopes and a loss of faith in the American Dream. Dixon utilizes exaggerated shadows and colors that are slightly stylized in a manner that subtly but effectively perpetuates the feeling of disenchantment. The only color that jumps out in the painting is the golden field in the foreground. This richly colored piece of land is reminiscent of the idyllic American landscape and is set in contrast to the somber and defeated tones present in the rest of the