I saw maybe 3 deer. but I wanted to draw the one that was looking right at me. There was also quite a few ducks out on Lake Joanis. As I was walking around I came across a few butterflies, so I decided to draw them as well. There was also some large spiders on trees ( I HATE spiders) but I drew them anyways.

That small looking stick thing is actually a log. There were so many, do I figured I would add one to the drawing.

One thing about me is that I LOVE flowers, so I was really excited to get to draw them. Unfortunately, Schmeeckle didn't have many flowers, so the ones that you are seeing in the drawing, are actually right outside the NFAC. I was shocked to see the beautiful flowers outside the building, but knew when I saw them, I had to draw them.

I really enjoyed getting to do this activity and just getting to sit and nature and see all these creatures be themselves.

Northern Song

Travelers Among Mountains and Streams

Fan Kuan

10th Century

Mt. Hua

Wall painting

Ink on silk

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11012 

 Seashore, Morning

 William Hart

1866

Oil on canvas 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

• Describe your two paintings (make sure you give us clear information identifying your comparison painting)

  • Northern song art

    • Fan Kuan was a master of monumental landscape style paintings. This painting was created after Kuan took a trip to Mt.Hua, where he secluded himself in the forests and mountains. He did this to observe the effects of atmospheric, weather and seasonal changes.

  • Non-Chinese Art 

    • An oil painting that shows a coastal landscape focusing on the light filled effects of the morning seashore. A lot of Hart’s work is a characteristic of his mature style which was influenced by the Hudson River School. 

• Write a comparative analysis, comparing and contrasting your two paintings.

  • When looking at both of the pieces I can see a lot of similarities as well as a lot of differences. Firstly, the brush strokes in both pieces are fairly similar and they both look like they were using light amounts of oil when painting. They also both don't look very overwhelming like a lot of paintings in Chinese art. One difference is how the paintings were made. For Kuan's piece, he was taking the different seasons and its effect on the mountains and its surroundings, whereas Hart's painting was made by observing the effects of the sunrise on the seashore and how the lighting is in the morning.  

• Explain why you chose this comparison and explain its significance.

  • I chose two compare these two paintings because of the somewhat similar(ish) thought processes the artists had. One did the painting based on the change of weather/ atmosphere, whereas the other artist did their painting based on the lighting and how it changes from night to day. 

• What do you think we can learn from your transcultural, transregional comparison?

  • We can learn that a lot of artists, Chinese or not, make their painting from natural observations and looking at their surroundings to create the work. 

Yuan Dynasty 

Grooms and Horses

Zhao Mengfu

February 11th, 1296

China 

Handscroll

Ink and color on paper

Horse and Groom paintings were very popular in early Chinese history, especially during the Yuan dynasty. Zhao Mengfu was a Yuan Dynasty painter that served in the ministry of war at court. He used painting as a way to express emotion. He did a lot mind landscapes, which were paintings done purely from memory. His main focus was nature, but he also did a few horse and groom paintings. "On the tenth day of the first moon in the second year of Yuanzhen [February 11, 1296] I painted this man and horse and presented it to the Administrator Inspector Feiqing for his pure enjoyment. Written by Zhao Mengfu of Wuxing. 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/12823

George Washington before the Battle of Trenton

John Trumbull

Ca. 1792-94

American

Oil on canvas 

This painting was made by George Washington sitting down for Trumbull while he painted a portrait of him on a full size canvas. The significance of this piece is shown in the drama of Washington's face, as he looks at the threatening sky. The horse next to him is being held in check by the soldier groom, who is also shown in the piece. 

Both these pieces have their similarities and differences. One similarity I can point out is that they are both “technically” horse and groom photos. While the non-Chinese piece isn’t described as Horse and Groom style, you can still get the sense that it’s a leader and their horse. A difference that is very noticeable is the style the paintings are done in. Zhao Mengfu is known for his mind landscapes, meaning that his painting was done solely from the mind. Therefore the horse doesn’t have the exact proportions of an actual horse. You can see that the horse is quite round, which isn’t very normal for most horses. The painting that Trumbell did, was a still life of George Washington, the horse, and the soldier groom. That painting shows what is actually going on in front of Trumbull, which gives the piece a lot more emotion and expression.
I chose these pieces because I really liked how they both are slightly similar with horses and grooms. I also just really enjoyed comparing the two different styles the artists paint in. I really like seeing how artists differentiate from each other.  We can learn the significance of horses in both a Chinese and American  perspective. In China, horses were very significant for numerous reasons, for example, they were often used in the military and a lot of the time a horse can show your economic status. In the US, it is almost the same. Horses were used for mobility for hunting, trade and even warfare. So in the end, we can learn that horses are often very significant in different cultures, for similar reasons. Comparing and contrasting these two paintings helped me understand that more.