My Favorite Painting

I want to start by saying I found this to be a very difficult task. How can I pick a favorite painting when it is clearly evident that I have not even come close to viewing a fraction of the paintings which have surfaced throughout the world? So this painting is a mere selection of the "favorite painting" amongst those I have been fortunate enough to see in my time here on earth thus far. After viewing hundreds of paintings this was the only one to immediately grasp my attention. The lighting on the water is so dramatic, while the blue hues are incredibly soothing. The irony is that this painter is not well known, in fact, her main focus isn’t even painting. However, it is evident that she has a gift. The artist who created this eye-catching painting is Ann Ulrich Miller. She is the publisher of The Star Beacon and a novelist. She only dabbles in art when she feels urge come over her which inspires her to create a painting. She resides in southeastern Ohio with her husband and their dog. Not the typical idea of an artist who creates masterpieces, but then again, it goes to show that passionate and talented individuals are present throughout the world. Art remains her outlet and passion, not something she does to make a living, which I find to be quite honorable.

As far as the painting is concerned, the title remains simple, Mountains. There is no date posted with the painting, but I am almost certain it is a fairly recent painting due to the information on the site. Ann created this painting with oil, which allowed her to create the wide range of hues, especially the darker hues seen in the sky and plant-life. The use of oil has allowed Ann to achieve the subtle changes in light, creating the realistic three-dimensional effects. In the lighter areas, it is assumed that Ann used a thinning technique to create glazes for the special effects on the water and sky. The thinner helps the paint to appear almost transparent, allowing for the lighting to appear so realistic. The glaze allows the painted objects to reflect light as if they were real. This technique also helped to create the reflection of the trees and plants in the water, which one would see while looking into an actual body of water. I would say the body of water represented in this painting could be classified as an example of trompe l’oeil, due to its realistic qualities. The luxury of oil painting is the slow drying time, since it allows for easy manipulation and error correcting, if necessary. This could factor in to the precision and lifelike qualities that are portrayed in this painting.

Overall, Ann Miller did an amazing job of bringing this painting to life. The lighting is definitely the factor that brought this image into the favorite ranking. Simply looking at the water makes me feel like I am standing on the shore, staring into the glassy, clear blue water. The cool blue hues and the snow capped mountains remind me of winter coming to an end. I feel at peace when viewing this image. It is like an escape from the crazy city life and a calming reminder of the beauty that exists in nature.