Hope Floats

Hope Floats

By: Lori McNee

Lorie McNee became interested in art and nature at a very young age. Always wanting to capture the birds around her yard, but never being successful, McNee began capturing them in another way…through art. She illustrated for Ducks Unlimited and although she studied art in college, considered herself, for the most part, a self-taught artist. McNee apprenticed with a great deal of very famous wildlife artists, which in turn helped her to broaden her artistic ability to compose still life, landscape, and plein air paintings. Most of her still life compositions, much like Hope Floats, featured things like birds and butterflies, which were inspired by what is known as the Dutch master technique. Being as in touch with nature as McNee is, it’s no wonder that her “elegant paintings” display a sense of balance between nature and man, in the hopes that they might one day peacefully coexist.

Take for example, McNee’s still life, Hope Floats. In such a composition she uses oil paint to help create her scene. The scene consists of two old, yet beautifully antiquated chests, lying delicately on a solid, sturdy table, serving as the plane in the piece. The chests differ slightly from one another, the bottom one being larger and more prominent that the top, with a subtle oriental graphic on either side of its lock which is closed tightly with an intertwining metal design just below the chest itself. However, it’s the smaller, more petit chest opened slightly with a delicate line of nine butterflies escaping and floating upward away from the once locked chest that becomes the real focal point of the painting. The content is clearly based on the idea of hope and optimism and renders a feeling of peace and tranquility in the viewer. McNee uses soft colors with light tones of browns, yellows, whites, blues, and reds, with an attention grabbing effect of chiaroscuro, which is displayed through the immense darkness shown to the left of the composition, and below the chests, as compared to the light coming from the top and right side of the chests. However, what is more evident than anything is the apparent movement of the butterflies from their once captivated state inside the clasped containments to an upward journey into light and freedom, where only hope can lead their way.

The painting seems to tell the story of a constant struggle to free oneself from the containment of the overbearing world around them, by escaping and floating away into something bigger, brighter, and more promising than darkness and gloom. It seems to be saying, “Go forth and live out your life” …“With hope anything’s possible…anything.”

Hope the Butterfly

Hope the Butterfly
By: Jessa Huebing-Reitinger

This painting, done by Jessa Huebing-Reitinger, is very characteristic of the types of paintings that she is known for and creates. Performing live within public areas as part of a project called “Project InSECT” and creating large robust paintings of insects such as “Hope” the butterfly, makes this one not at all an aberration from Reitinger’s usual ways. However, due to her immense love of insects, and devotion towards education and conservation among the masses, Reitinger has managed to produce an image that draws forth emotions, seemingly hidden behind carefully crafted wings.

Upon looking at the image, it’s clear that the focal point is specifically on the butterfly itself and how it’s sitting, almost floating, mystically in mid-air against its background. Also, the use of earth tones helps to make the butterfly appear quite primitive and sagacious in appearance, with wings colored in hues equated in harmony on either side of its slender body. By displaying such a bleak, dark background, the butterfly seems to stick out against the dark, and look up towards the light that is shining and filtering down upon it. It’s wings are spread in flight, and its shadow shows that there has already been progress in the creature’s forward, and/or upward motion towards what looks like a much brighter future and destiny.

Such a painting seems to suggest that no matter how dark or gloomy times may get, there is always a ray of hope among the shadows and despair, if only it’s sought. For then, if that tiny ray of hope is found, wings of freedom can only follow, like that of Hope’s, in order to lead the way to new beginnings shown in a very different light.

Hope

I decided to choose Hope as the topic for my concept-folio because I simply love the idea of what it's all about. I love what it means and stands for, and the feeling it creates inside you when you experience it. I, myslef, having had plenty of times when hope was all I had left to count on, have always held it in high regards. I feel that hope is one of the strongest of all human emotions and has the power to defeat all odds and achieve even the most far fetched of goals and dreams as long as you keep it in your sight, and never let go.
I do believe Hope...will always prevail.