San Antonio Museum of Art

The first picture I chose was "Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevadas", 1870Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)Oil on canvas. What i found so captivating about this painting was the fact that from a far it did not even look like a painting but rather a photo. Its color and lines look like actual nature. The contrast of the shadows from the rocks and trees leads you to believe that you yourself are looking out over this lake. The painting is both peacful and frenzied by the look of the calm before the storm. The second picture I chose wasm, Frank Stella, b. 1936Double Scramble, 1968Fluorescent alkyd on canvas. This was not your usual picture, in fact it was just a series of rainbow colored squares. But it is completely hypnotizing and it seems to go on forever. The lines and colors are straight forward but i think thats the point. there is no contrast, just the changing variation from color to color. The painting is kind of calming but at the same time its hypnotic.