An Art Critique on Vietnam Reflections by Lee Teter

I. Description

In this painting done by artist Lee Teter, one can see a dark-colored wall extending from end to end of the picture where countless names are engraved. Outside the wall, there is a man standing, his right arm is extended upward with his palm touching the wall, his head bowed down, his facial expression is that of a man grieving. His shadow covering a portion of the wall; his sleeves are rolled up to his elbow; he is wearing a black vest over a white collared long-sleeve shirt. On the other side of the wall, several soldiers are facing the wall, looking at the man on the opposite side; their expressions solemn. One is squatting, the others are standing; two of the soldiers have their left arms raised in such a way that they appear to be reaching out to the man on the other side. Above the wall are branches of trees with yellow leaves and a grayish colored sky. On the grass covered ground lay several objects including a small American flag, a piece of black cloth with white print, some flowers along the side of the wall. There, beside the man, is his earth-colored suitcase and his black coat on top of it

II. Analysis 

Among all the objects that can be seen in this work of art, the most noticeable is the wall. The impact of its size, together the engravings on its surface create a feeling of encouragement to the viewer to discover what message it is trying to convey. 

The shapes of the objects present in the painting vary in such a way that they create a harmonious effect. They appear organized and one will be able to identify each object and to distinguish one figure from another. The colors used which vary from shades of light gray to black, and the artist’s use of earth colors conform with the subjects, in such a way that they appear to be natural and not comic-like. The painter is able to clearly emphasize each form making the work appear life-like and even in its simplicity, an eye-catching one. 

The glossy appearance of the wall is in contrast with the other objects in the background, making the man standing look like he is not part of the painting but rather a mere spectator. In terms of space and volume relationships of the artwork, they appear to be proportional making it look very natural and pleasant to the eyes. 

III. Interpretation. 

Generally, the work is very impressive; the artist did not fail to capture the artist part of me but also my personal perspective toward life. Upon seeing the work for the first time, I got impressed with the way the artist created his work – very natural, as if I was looking at a picture and not a painting. As I looked closely, and saw the expressions reflected on each man’s face, I got moved by the intensity of emotions I saw in them. 

As I look again closely, I no longer see a piece of artwork but rather a scene which to seems to touch me from deep within my soul, like something deep inside me wants to cry out and reach out to them and comfort these people. My heart also goes out to the lone man who appears to be grieving, seemingly wanting to console his fellowmen who were trapped behind the wall of sorrow. The work conveys that life is sometimes full of hardships, that one must hang on to what little hope or faith he has because that very little thing he has can inspire you to continue fighting until the time comes and you soon be free of your sorrow and will finally experience joy 

IV. Judgment 

Teter’s work is an example of an expressive art. The artist is able to convey to the viewers his personal interpretation of the tragedy and pain brought about by Vietnam War using a work of art that is impressively captivating. 

Bibliography 

Teter, L. (2010). About reflections. http://www.leeteter.com/DetailsArt.aspx?

id=77.

"Monalisa II"

I couldn’t say what was I thinking then or what made me stop in the middle of my work…Maybe I got bored…Maybe I was tired…Or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood; I didn’t really know. I couldn’t remember. All I know now is that I felt sorry I stopped; I felt unsatisfied cause I wasn’t able to finish my work. I found this unfinished piece as I went looking for something [which I couldn’t recall what] among my things just a couple of nights ago. 

This Iris lacks a petal, a stem and some leaves. I had already made enhancements, as onecan see. I used mixed media on this; charcoal for the darker shadings and orange and gold metallic inks for variation. For the outline, I used a medium-sized silver marker. Well, maybe I wasn’t just contented with the outcome that time that’s why I decided not to continue it…But when I found it, I realized that I should have….What do you guys think???

"Palawan" : My First Work on Canvas

A couple of years ago, before I had my first art exhibit, I happened to drop by a book store that sells second hand items. I looked around, tried to find the perfect subject for my first painting on canvas and here’s what I’ve found: a post card of Palawan. I studied the picture and carefully chose the colors that I would be using. I took note of the brush strokes; tried not to linger on any angle since I was using acrylic.

Because it dries easily, I had to be careful, otherwise, the work would turn out to be a disaster. I concentrated on the color of the water and the reflection of the rocks on it…I made some variations as one can see in my finished work. One thing I like about using acrylic paint is that it gives a glossy effect on the subject.However, once it dries up and you’re not careful with your strokes, uneven brush prints will be quite visible, unless of course you know exactly what to do about it.

Above: picture of Palawan;

Below: a painting of Palawan, my first work on canvas.

Title: "Palawan; Medium: Acrylic; Size: 12" x 18"

Exploring the Art of Painting

Before I go on any further, I would like to inform everyone who will happen to read this article that I do not paint to earn a living. I just happen to appreciate nature as well as the talent that God has given me. 

How It All Began

When I was in grade school, I used to ask my uncle to do my projects for me. I would relay to him the instructions that my teacher had given the class and my uncle would do it overnight so I could submit it the following school day. I frequently earned bonus points for submitting my projects ahead of submission date. Unfortunately, during my sixth grade, my uncle and I had a petty quarrel. Well, I couldn’t ask him to do my projects for me then, could I? So I had to make them on my own…And that was the time that I discovered I could draw.

Since then, I had been the one who’s been doing my art projects. And it was during my second year in high school that I discovered that I could also paint. I learned about it when I decided to copy the painting hanging on the wall of our living room. I bought a cartolina and borrowed my father’s old Tempera watercolor and started the job. [The finished work was used as a background in our group’s English short play]. 

I have done many paintings in watercolor but I was not able to keep all of them. Some, I gave to my friends as birthday presents or as a remembrance to those who had left the country [funny, my paintings reached the United States, yet I haven’t got the chance to do so ]. Anyway, here’s one of my favorites. I hope you guys will come to like it as well… 

The Work

Title: One Merry Day 

Medium: Oil on Canvas 

Size: 12" x 18" 

This painting probably had the longest time spent among my works. I think it took me about three weeks or more to finish this. I started with the background; A mixture of white and green [just a small amount of green and plenty of white] which I applied as some sort of coating before I started painting the leaves, and the rest of the background. 

The Background 

As I did the brush strokes, I have learned that it was not that hard to paint the sunlight using oil as medium. Doing the background – which consisted of trees and fruits, wild flowers and grass – was equally easy, although the oil paint took quite some time to dry up since the amount that I used was quite plenty. 

The Main Subject 

What took most of my time, however, was making sure that the body of the horse was in proportion and that its color would depict cheerfulness – the reason why I decided to use ivory white instead of the animal’s original brown color. I copied the horse from a back issue of a cowboy magazine, by the way. 

Some Tips:

Solvents

 Disadvantages of Using Turpentine 

I used to blend colors using oil of turpentine, but there were disadvantages: One, it has a very strong odor which is hazardous to health – oftentimes, I suffer from headaches upon inhaling the fume; two, it is quite costly yet the amount contained in one bottle is oftentimes not sufficient to finish a single piece. Sometimes I have to use three or more bottles to finish one single work. 

Better Alternative 

I have learned from a friend who is a professional painter that I could use linseed oil instead of oil of turpentine. The former is much cheaper. 

When I bought these products, I noticed the big difference in their prices: One bottle (325ml) had a price of Php30.00, [if I am not mistaken]; well, try buying one at a hardware, instead of purchasing from notable bookstores such as NBS. The oil of turpentine, on the other hand had a price of Php385.00 per bottle (containing about 50 – 100 ml) [Note: the prices that I mentioned were from way back 2004]. 

Well, although I had bought these products years ago, I’m quite sure that there is still a big difference in their current costs. 

Brush and Palette Cleaner 

Oil of turpentine is quite an expensive brush cleaner [lolz! What was I thinking when I used it to soak my brushes???? ] My painter friend also advised me to soak my brush on kerosene, and well, you can use it to clean your palette as well. Just don’t let the oil to dry up completely or you will definitely be having a hard time cleaning your palette - I’m talking about the aluminum type 

I’ll be sharing some of my works and ideas in my next post….Hope you guys learned something from this article. Thanks for dropping by. 

Should you have any suggestions or comments please don’t hesitate to drop a line. Have a nice day, everyone!