Painting Analysis: Elements of Arts

Do you love fancy bats, or are you just completely scared and grossed with their existence?
What about the sky? Are you the type who‘s a lover of its beauty especially when emits pleasant
colors at sunrise or at sunset or the time in between?

I entitled the painting, “Bats at Dusk.”

For its visual elements, one would either be captivated by the gradient color combination of the sky which gives of the feeling of peace and beauty, or the scary, night -over the countryside feeling implied by the silhouette of the trees, bats, and mountains. The silhouette effect used in the painting makes the lines and shapes two-dimensional counterproductive to the contour and shades of the clouds and the sky in the background, which gives an overall contrasting technique. Its texture provides a soft presentation because of the flat design of subjects (or the silhouette parts).

However, although it is two-dimensional, it also gives a little depth from the small tree and the mountain depicting a distant view. This further indicates the emphasis that is present on the foreground and background subjects through their abrupt changes in opposing elements. In addition, the background of the painting uses analogous colors, which are colors that are next to each other in the color wheel like red, red-purple, purple, blue-purple, and blue.

I, the creator, decided to paint this piece to advocate the conversation primarily of bats. Recent studies show that many European bats are under threat and some have even become extinct in certain countries. The reasons for this are mainly: loss of roosts/ habitat, loss of feeding areas, increased use of pesticides in agriculture that kill the insects that the bats depend on for food, increased use of pesticides in building materials that poison the bats that roost in treated buildings, prejudices against bats and misunderstandings arising from an ignorance of bats. Bats, contrary to popular beliefs, do not attack humans and would only bite a person to defend themselves. Bat populations are one of the best natural indicators of the health of our environment. This is because bats flourish where an ecosystem is healthy and stable. If we appreciate the beauty of the sky, we must not lose our humaneness just because dislike other’s existence, like the bats’. May humanity be more aware and kinder with the actions we are to take on- that we will also put consideration to conservation and protection of our co-existing species.

Thank you.