Julie Gu
03-30-09
First Period
Gallery Critique No. 3
During the visit of the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen of Virginia, I came upon a piece of artwork that I was fascinated with. This artwork was “Immortal – Water” which had been painted by Richard Stodart who was recently residing in Virginia. The main media used by Stodart in painting the artwork was acrylic paints. This piece of art was only one out of four paintings that formed the collection called “The Four Immortals – Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.” Set in the center of the work was a green turtle with the shell of the reptile facing the audience. The horizon between land and water divided the artwork into equal halves. On the shell of the turtle was a geometric pattern with several circles overlapping each other. Below the turtle was a white lotus flower blooming in the midst of a pond painted with the same shade of green as that of the reptile. Surrounding the lotus flower were numerous large lotus leaves floating on the surface of the water. Stodart painted the background of the artwork with an ashy and creamy color which contrasted with the dominating color of green.