A Formal Analysis of Andrew Wyeth's Scuba

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Joyce Myers Formal Analysis October 28, 2011 A Formal Analysis of Andrew Wyeth’s Scuba Andrew Wyeth painted Scuba in 1994, using egg tempera on panel. Tempera is made by mixing ground pigments with whole eggs or egg yolks thinned with water. Clear, almost opaque painting is the effect created by this medium. There are some advantages to using egg tempera. The colors remain bright and the luster will not dull over the years. Color is one of the biggest advantages of this medium. The colors are absolute, meaning they are clear, bright, and pure. Layer upon layer of paint may be applied rather quickly. This technique can be used to achieve an opaque or transparent look. The artist is known for painting photographic-like renderings of people he knew. The subject is most likely the image of a friend, relative or neighbor native to Wyeth’s summer home in Maine. The painting, which is 19 x 30 inches, is on display in the Jackson T. Stephens gallery of the Arkansas Arts Center. The painting features a young man wearing a diving suit and flippers. He is lying partially in the water of what seems to be an ocean shoreline. His diving mask and a few sea shells lay near on the sandy beach. The tide is rolling in, creating choppy waves that dash against a rock formation that is also near the diver. The subject’s feet are submerged and clearly visible in the translucent gray-green water along the shore. The bottom edge of the rocky cliff is also visible in the sheer color treatment of the shallow water. To the upper right of the painting, and in the distance, the vast ocean appears a dense and misty gray-blue. A linear quality is apparent in the parallel horizontal lines formed by the diver’s body and the adjacent rock formation. The viewer’s eye travels across the painting following the lines of the two motionless objects. The dark gray of the rocks and the

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