Stolen Farms - Art

Stolen Farms is a visually appealing painting with a strong, clear message. Painted as a multi-color aerial view of farmland, the property lines marked by a change in color. The colors used are very bright and appealing, yet the title suggests that these are stolen farms, a distinctly negative connotation. This title leads one to ask, who stole these farms, and from whom?
A potential answer lies in the historical reality of the aftermath of the Civil War. Though freed slaves were promised a parcel of land to assist them in making their way as free people, this promise was never fulfilled. Therefore, these plots of land were stolen from their rightful owners, the slaves who had worked them during in the Antebellum South.
Yet the picture is not all bleak in this painting. One strong, vibrant black patch remains in the piece. This represents the continuing ambition and perseverance of African-Americans. The power and strength of this force is indicated by the intense color saturation of this block.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Fortune Flower - Art

This painting is a monochromatic image on a white background. The image appears to be a type of fruit, perhaps a cherry. However, the image is purple, which is not naturally a color of cherries. In fact, few foods that occur in nature are purple, so it is interesting to ask oneself why the artist might have chosen this color for this fruit.

It follows logically that since few foods are known to be purple in nature that the artist does not intend for the cherry to appear appetizing. In fact, purple is known to be a color associated with weight loss and appetite repression. Purple is used in color therapy for patients who suffer from weight control problems. The painting accents the fruit’s healthfulness, not its appetizing flavor. Fruit leads to healthful living and weight loss, and this is its primary benefit, as reflected in this painting.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Stolen Terror - Art

A strong column of color is the focus of this piece, a solitary figure in the painting placed just slightly off-center in the painting’s frame. A wide range of colors is featured in this column, which calls to mind a Native American totem pole. The colors featured in the column are very naturalistic colors – browns, a deep midnight blue, and a flowery pink. The brown and blue segments have very distinct borders between them. By contrast, the pink seems to blend into the blue segments, their edges blurred and overlapping.

Pink, which is typically thought of as a feminine color, is only a small section of this figure. Yet it is present, and slowly blending with and encroaching upon the rest of the column. If this column represents a totem pole, then the pink segment’s encroachment indicates the female power that was quietly present in cultures that were primarily patriarchal, as many Native American societies were.

The painting’s simplicity lends power to its meaning. A single, colorful column in placed in a stark background of white, the figure in the painting quite striking. Visually, the painting is simple, yet forceful, and it prompts the viewer to further contemplation.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Death Flower - Art

Death Flower captures the wilting of a flower in a profound study of mortality and death. This painting, with its naturalistic color scheme of muted neutrals, is very simple in composition. It features a single flower shown in a vulnerable, weak state of deterioration. Slowly, the flower wilts and dies, as its time as a living thing on this planet elapses and ends. The flower finally collapses on the hard ground, a victim of time and nature.

The flower’s death becomes a metaphor for the nature of death itself in this captivating piece. The flower dies humbly and alone, as we all must at some time in the future. The artist could have chosen to depict the flower in the context of its surroundings, providing images of the surrounding flowers, the sky, and other vegetation in the area. Yet in the end, death is a solitary experience and a personal one, so the flower falls alone, the lone figure featured in this evocative painting.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Mixed Roads - Art

In Mixed Roads, three roads of varying length are the central focus of the piece. These roads are variegated, alternating stripes decorating their lengths; they appear to be constructed out of more than one material. The monochromatic, gray color scheme gives the roads a monolithic, dominating feel. Set against a simple white background, the roads stand out, projecting a powerful and imposing impression. The texture of the surface of the roads is realistic, and they appear to be bumpy and scratchy like real asphalt. Looking at this painting, one can almost feel the rough surface of the road on the shoe soles as they scrape against the pavement.

The length and shape of the roads is also worthy of noting. The first road is the longest, yet it curves around and seems to collapse into itself. The traveler taking this road would find himself back at his starting point. The second road is not as long as the first, but it is a fully extended, straight line from one point to another. This is a clearer, more defined path, and the traveler who chooses this road will find he has traveled somewhere. The third road is quite short, and it seems to have been interrupted somehow. This truncated road represents the road not traveled, the trip not taken, the adventure missed because of laziness or apathy.

These roads represent journeys that one can choose to take or not take. By having a clearly defined set of goals, the shorter path can sometimes be the most effective. The second road in the painting is shorter than the first, and therefore requires less effort to travel. Yet the overall effect is better from the shorter journey. Instead of traveling aimlessly only to end up back at the starting point, the traveler actually moves somewhere, bringing him closer to his destination.
©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Mastaba - Art

Mastaba is a cryptic piece with a strong historical connection. The title suggests the piece’s meaning, for a “mastaba” is an ancient Egyptian precursor to the pyramid. A burial place for pharaohs and wealthy Egyptians, the mastaba is a low, rectangular building meant to house the remains and possessions of the deceased. This painting is a study of the mastaba, capturing its essential nature rather than its actual physical appearance. The painting itself is abstract in form, but its lines are highly suggestive and have a mysterious quality.

The figure that is featured in this painting evokes an ancient Egyptian mood. The shape itself has the feel of an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph. The lines are strong and well-defined like those of a written linguistic character. Though the shape in the painting does not actually reflect the structure of an Egyptian mastaba, it captures its general nature and purpose. The dark blood red line snakes across the painting, curving upward, and its highest point supports a dense red ball. The line is the mastaba, for it is a vessel to the underworld. The line’s meandering shape represents this journey across the river Styx into the underworld. The small red ball is the mastaba’s precious cargo – the soul of the deceased.

The choice of a deep, dark red as the primary color of this piece is significant. This color symbolizes the essential life force of the deceased person buried in the mastaba. Blood, is an essential component of life that carries this force, and the selection of this blood-red shade for the color of this figure evokes the spiritual power of the mastaba to carry off the life force of the person buried within. This is a beautiful, haunting piece that brings to attention an often overlooked ancient Egyptian burial tradition.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Warped - Art

Warped, a highly abstract painting with an intriguing title, uses a complementary, dichromatic color scheme and broad strokes. The colors featured in this piece are a vibrant scarlet-red shade, along with a deep royal blue. The contrast between the colors and the way that they are painted is very striking. Red, a very warm color connoting heat and flame, is painted in broad, erratic streaks across the canvas. The red streaks have an almost schizophrenic appearance, their edges blurred as though drifting away. The smaller red streak appears to have broken off from the larger one, an image of destruction and violent separation. Here is the warped object and the focus of the painting.
The royal blue shapes interspersed with the red are dense and solid by comparison. A diamond, square, circle, and oblong rectangle are placed at different points in the painting. The clear-cut edges of the shapes and their strong color saturation stand in stark contrast to the wispy red streaks. These shapes are not warped; they are completely intact and serve as a foil for the deteriorating patches of red. An interesting study in color and texture, Warped is a meaningful painting with a provocative title and an interesting visual composition.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Streaming Sensation - Art

` This abstract, freeform painting creates a strong impression of movement through space. The swirling appearance of the lines of the painting is reminiscent of wind, or smoke rising through the air. In fact, the lines themselves do not appear to be solid. They are wispy and ethereal, seeming to have little substance, like something that would slip through one’s fingers. Again, this is reminiscent of a fleeting, delicate substance like air or smoke. The lines emerge at a point along one of the painting’s edges, travels across the surface of the painting in a succession of elegant and limber curves, and disappears at a point on the other side of the painting.

The choice of the color green is intriguing. Green is associated with nature and growth, perhaps suggesting that the lines represent a spring wind and its life-giving force. Green is also associated with greed, which might suggest that the lines of the painting represent smoke and the destructive power of fire, which consumes all that it touches much in the way that greed can become all-consuming. This green, swirling mass holds much meaning and gives the painting a vitality that is very exciting.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Quiet Storms - Art

In Quiet Storms, a rosy cloud fills the painting’s frame, its composition wavy and ethereal. The storm cloud in the painting does have a very quiet impression, its hazy texture showing the white background behind the image. Like a soft white cloud in the sky before a gentle rain, this cloud is neither forbidding, nor dark like a thunderstorm cloud. This cloud is calming and peaceful, giving an impression of the relaxation imparted by a gentle, quiet rain.

The rosy color of this storm cloud also distinguishes it from an ordinary rain cloud. This rosy color indicates positivism and happiness, and this rainstorm has an uplifting effect on the spirits. Though rain is typically associated with depression and sadness, it is also true that rain can also bring joy. Rain is a necessary element in the environment, watering plants and sustaining life. In addition, the beauty of a gentle rainstorm can often fill people with feelings of happiness and secure contentment.


©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

New Born - Art

New Born is an abstract piece with broad, dark lines and strong, clear shapes. In this painting, the fragile nature of new life is evoked. The newly created being, represented by a dense, dark circle of color in this piece, must be protected from the outside elements that threaten to destroy it. A broad, encompassing stroke, the line creating a barrier between the new life and the dangerous elements outside, protects the little germ of life.

This piece is fascinating, as it broaches a subject that is important to mankind – the proliferation of our way of life. In a hostile and often unwelcoming universe, new life must be protected and nurtured until it reaches maturity. In many species of life, the young are quite vulnerable for a long time after birth, and it is the responsibility of the mature members of the species to protect this young, growing life from dangers present in the surroundings. Disease, predators, weather, and other elements threaten to obliterate new life, but, as New Born shows, efforts to nurture new life can protect against these dangers.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Family Rails - Art

Family Rails is an airy, colorful piece with hazy multi-colored stripes that stretch across the painting. The colors in this piece range from green to pink to yellow, all of them muted and neutral in tone. The colors combine to create a pleasing arrangement of complementary colors, the beauty of these shades enhanced by the juxtaposition of cool and warm colors.

These colors become stronger and more effective by their careful positioning next to each other. Each color serves as a foil for the other one, strengthening the impression that each color has on the viewer. This natural improvement by being part of a group or a collective arrangement reflects the way that a family strengthens and improves its members. Strength can be found in numbers, and the sum of the whole of a family is greater than the strength of its individual members.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Hotelp - Art

In Hotelp, elegant lines intertwine to produce a beautiful, evocative image that is both calming and stimulating at the same time. The colors in this piece are vibrant and high in saturation, drawing the eye along the length of the curving, graceful lines that make up the image depicted in this piece. These vibrant colors stand in contrast to the bareness of the painting’s spare white background. This contrast heightens the vibrancy of the colors, making them more striking to the viewer’s eye.

The graceful intertwining of lines in this piece provides a sense of calm, as though the lines are upward moving plumes wafting up in a slow, elegant journey to the sky. The way that these lines intertwine suggests an interconnectedness, a natural cooperation of different elements that, when combined, produce a whole greater than the sum of its parts. This connection adds a layer of emotional intensity to this piece, and Hotelp is a visually compelling and meaningful piece that is both calming and contemplative in nature.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Mothers Surprise - Art

Mothers Surprise is an evocative painting that captures the fundamental nature of human reproduction. The shapes of sperm and egg, the yin and yang of conception, figure prominently in this simple piece. The monochromatic pink color scheme suggests the conception of a girl, the mother’s surprise alluded to in the title. The X-shaped end of one of the wavy, sperm-like figures supports this image of the conception of a female child. This X-shaped figure references the biological reality of conception. The male reproductive partner determines the sex of the offspring in the modern understanding of human reproduction. An X-chromosome from the father generates a female child, and the X-shaped end of the male reproductive figure in this painting alludes to this paternally determined process.

This painting is quite adept at presenting a complex biological process, capturing its nuances and determining factors. Yet the lines of this painting are quite simple, and there are just a few powerful elements. Color is a significant feature of this piece, as well simple, clear lines that can be taken in as a single, unified impression. From the first moment of viewing, Mothers Surprise creates an instant, lasting impression.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Red Venus - Art

In Red Venus, a mysterious red planet hovers on the horizon. The planet, presumably Venus, as noted in the title, seems to be rising or setting, either coming up from behind the horizon or disappearing from view as the earth turns away from the planet. This unusually large figure of Venus dominates the sky in this painting, as it is the only heavenly body depicted in this piece. The sky belongs to Venus, which is depicted in this painting with an unusual red color.

Venus is not usually depicted as red, for it does not appear red from earth’s telescopes. Instead, Marsh is usually referred to as the red planet, because of its red color that can be seen from earth. Indeed, this is where Mars gets its name, the red color reminiscent of blood spilled in war, which is why Mars was named after the Roman god of war. Yet Venus is red in this picture, an interesting reversal that leaves the reader wondering and contemplating the meaning of this piece. Perhaps that is the greatest strength of Red Venus – the strikingly unusual depiction in this piece creates a sense of wonder in the viewer.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Rose - Art

Rose is a monochromatic piece that depicts a black rose, a symbol of mourning and death. The rose in this painting is not a symbol of love and romance, the way that typically colored roses, such as yellow and red roses, are generally seen. The black rose is an ominous sign, a malicious indicator of pending death. Black roses are also used to show a death as occurred, as a symbol of the family’s mourning.

The decision to show a black rose as the subject of this painting is intriguing. The rose itself is not beautiful. In fact, its shape is quite indistinct and lacks definition between the rose’s petals. This painting gives a mere impression of the shape of a black rose. The essence of the black rose comes forth, such as its forbidding meaning and a resultant sense of heightened anxiety. Yet the form of the rose itself is marred and abstracted, until it is almost ugly. Rose gives an interesting take on one of mankind’s most beloved flowers, showing the capacity of the rose to instill fear and create grief and sorrow.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Sea Noise - Art

Sea Noise is a monochromatic piece that calls to mind the many sounds of the sea. Though the painting is abstract in form, a compelling image forms in the viewer’s mind. Yet this painting’s overall effect is not so much to bring to mind a visual image as an auditory impression. The elements that make up the auditory experience of a day at the beach are all represented in this charcoal-colored piece. The undulating bands in the lower part of the painting represent the sound of waves lapping on the beach. The more sharply curved line near the top of the painting represents the sound of the wind on a blustery day at the beach. The shape that dominates the right half of the painting is a seagull, its call adding to the sound tapestry depicted in the painting.

The painting’s abstract nature allows it to reflect the sounds and impressions of a day at the beach rather than the literal visual composition of the beach itself. The viewer is brought into a closer connection with the experience of the beach through this auditory impression. In this way, Sea Noise creates a more vivid and lasting impression than a naturalistic depiction of the beach could accomplish.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Shades - Art

This painting titled Shades is an exploration of color. Vivid hues characterize this piece, and the blocks of color are quite striking and draw the viewer’s attention immediately. A true, bright shade of blue is juxtaposed against a duller pinkish hue. Orange, lavender, and forest green occupy the opposite side of the painting. Thick black lines that offset the bright, vivid colors mark the separation between the blocks of color.

Certain regions of the painting are white, and the black lines bleed considerably into these white segments. Perhaps it could be said that the absence of color from these segments leaves them susceptible to being sullied, just as leading a life devoid of meaning can lead one to unintended corruption. The painting is quite visually appealing, and the vibrant colors call to the viewer, yet also draw the eye to the parts of the painting that have no color. The central location of the blocks of absent color points to their importance. The painting calls attention both to the shades of color referred to in the title and also to the places where the shades are absent.


©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Sound of Color - Art

Sound of Color is a vibrant piece that very creatively finds a way to give an auditory aspect to the study of color. The color spectrum is well-represented in this painting, from vivid greens and blues to warm, rich reds, purples, and yellows. Color is most certainly a primary focus of this piece, and bright, moving color fills every inch of the painting.

The feeling of motion adds to the sensation of sound in this painting. The energy of the painting gives it an almost auditory characteristic, and the painting seems to be buzzing with activity. Though the piece is quite abstract, one can also discern the outline of several shapes that resemble musical instruments. Piano keys, a clarinet, brass instruments – these can all be seen in the freeform shapes of the painting, upon closer inspection by the viewer. These images of instruments do their part to contribute to the auditory experience of the viewer, and the sounds of these instrument come to mind as one views the painting. An undercurrent of noise seems to pervade this painting, and the Sound of Color draws upon recognizable images and a sense of energetic movement to create a nearly auditory experience of this beautiful painting.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Sound Waves - Art

Sound Waves is a monochromatic piece depicting sound waves emanating from a source of sound. This piece has a charcoal color scheme, which gives the piece a very dark sense, for the sound waves themselves are very dark – nearly black, in fact. The source of the sound is shown at the center of the painting and appears to be a piano or an old-fashioned radio. The sound waves radiate from the central object outward, and they appear to continue past the edge of the painting, floating out into space.

This piece gives the sound waves a great sense of life and movement, though the lines are dark and heavy. In fact, the dark and substantial appearance of the sound waves gives the impression that these waves are quite powerful and have a great deal of force. The sound coming from the sound source is strong and lush, as is indicated by the thick, dark lines of the painting’s lines. Music, the type of sound most often coming from a radio or piano, is the most emotionally powerful type of sound. Perhaps this accounts for the forceful nature of the sound waves in the painting.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Death - Art

Death is a dark piece featuring an ominous circular figure that invokes the image of a black hole. According to our modern understanding of the physics of the universe, black holes are vacuum-like occurrences in the universe that form when a star has died. These black holes absorb light and energy, sucking everything that comes near into its deep, vacuum-like vortex. Nothing is reflected from a black hole’s surface; rather, nothing ever emerges from a black hole, having once entered.

Death is similar to the black hole depicted in this painting, for death is also a vortex from which one can never return after having entered it. Death is final and claims its victims completely. Death is a foreboding painting that draws an interesting connection between death and black holes, presenting them as two sides of the same coin, both all-encompassing vacuums from which no one can return.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Royal Links - Art

In Royal Links, a series of circles fill the painting, seemingly interconnected as the circles brush against each other and intertwine. The connections between these circles of color represent the lineage of a royal family. Each swirling circle represents a birth in the royal family, and the connections between these generations are the “links” alluded to in the painting’s title. The close interconnectedness of the family itself is shown by the close proximity of one circle to another.

The use of the color green for the depiction of royal genealogy is quite unusual. Purple, a color typically associated with royalty, is the most obvious choice for a painting such as this one. However, the artist has chosen to use a monochromatic green color scheme, a reflection on that significance of the circles as births. Green is the color of new life, of growing things, and these circles each represent a birth of a royal family member. Royal Links, uses color and shapes to depict the passing of life from one important royal generation to another.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Warrior - Art

In Warrior, a complementary, primary color scheme creates a primal image of the warrior as archetype in human mythology. The primary color scheme used in this painting provides a significant insight into the history of the human concept of warrior. Red and blue, the two colors featured in this piece, are primary colors – the original colors from which all other colors are derived. In the same way, the legend of the warrior is an archetypal concept from which more modern stories are derived.

The markings that make up this piece have a tribal feel, an allusion to the warrior tradition in many ancient human civilizations with tribal societies. The markings are meaningful, the traces of red representing the spilled blood that accompanies war. The blue segments of the painting represents the nobility of the warrior. In many tribal cultures, the warrior was revered as a noble person. The warrior was rewarded and admired as a respected member of tribal society. Warrior is an evocative painting that honors the warrior tradition and its importance in human society.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Stopping Now - Art

Calling upon the visual image of a stoplight, Stopping Now is an intriguing abstract painting featuring vibrant color composition and strong lines. This painting portrays the stoplight in an interesting fashion. The red and the yellow lights are shown in their typical shape – a circular light that flashes on to direct traffic. However, as the title suggests, the painting is not depicting the action of “going,” which would be suggested by a green light, or the action of “being stopped,” which would be shown by the red light, but rather it shows the action of “stopping now,” an action indicated by a yellow light.

In accordance with this focus, the yellow light is not constrained by boundaries, but rather it fills the painting to the edges. The black regions of the painting represent the stoplight itself. The stoplight’s arm reaches out to block oncoming traffic, the vehicles represented by the rectangular shapes shown against the yellow background. This painting gives a very witty image of a stoplight imposing its rule onto the cars passing by.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Red Kingdom - Art

Red Kingdom is a highly abstract work of art with fluid lines that meander across the painting, seemingly without form or shape. The strange image in this painting, in its abstract and mysterious qualities, seems to take on a resemblance to a map. Perhaps this painting represents a map of the “red kingdom” of the painting’s title. A strange, indistinct landscape emerges from the abstract lines of the painting, and possible roads, mountains, and other landforms become visible.

The painting’s color scheme also mirrors that of a map. The colors used in this piece are naturalistic, all of them occurring in the natural world. A beige color, similar to sandstone or a dusty trail, is the predominant color in this piece. A vibrant red accompanies the beige, complementing it well. This red evokes flowers, blood, the sunset, and other naturally occurring objects. Also featured is yellow, the color of sunlight in the outdoors, another indicator of this painting as a map of a place in the natural world.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Raging Barricades - Art

In Raging Barricades, opposite forces are depicted at the moment of collision, darkness and heat meeting at a single, solid line. Heat and fire are represented in the red swath of canvas on one side of the thick, black dividing line at the center of the painting. On the other side, a gray darkness dominates the piece, colliding with the red side in the middle. The thick, dark line of the barricade is the only thing separating the two sections of the painting, and the viewer can immediately feel the tension and the energy of the collision between the opposing forces.

The juxtaposition of the gray and the red is a significant feature of this piece. The gray represents darkness, lifelessness, and death. The color has been extracted from this side of the painting, its existence left dark and gloomy, devoid of all life and all color. The red side of the painting represents heat and life, the warmth of the vibrant color representing energy and light. Life is constantly at war with death, trying to ward it off, though only a thin barricade separates the two, and life can instantly give way to death with the rupture of the barrier.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Cham-pag-neh

Released Evolution - Art

In Released Evolution, a vibrant red color scheme and a dynamic freeform shape creates an image of emerging power and movement. The vitality of the red color in this painting is significant. The color scheme of this piece is a monochromatic red, and the color saturation is quite strong in this painting. Red, a color typically associated with heat and fire, gives the image in this painting a sense of power and heat. This vibrant color scheme indicates the fiery force that exists behind all life that exists on this living planet.

The sunburst design of the figure featured in this painting creates an image of outward motion. From the center of the sunburst, all of the force of the painting emerges, expanding toward the edges of the painting’s landscape. This emergence from a central point evokes the nature of the evolution of life. From a central common ancestor, different species of life emerge like spokes on a wheel. Released Evolution is an interesting look at the nature of evolution and its constant outward expansion toward more diversity of life.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Self Understanding - Art

In Self Understanding, a dark, monochromatic color scheme and strong lines create an evocative piece that touches on themes of identity. This painting is dark, with strong black lines and a faded gray background. The dark color scheme of this piece illustrates the dark nature that a person’s sense of identity can sometimes take on. The interior of the mind is a mysterious place, and many hidden dangers lurk in the unseen darkness. Deep-seated fears are a large component of one’s basic identity, and these fears often determine the way a person sees himself or herself.
The strong black lines of this piece meander across the painting’s landscape in an abstract, shapeless design. The curves of the lines are without any distinct pattern, and they wander freely and without inhibition. This free movement of the lines in the painting reflects the fluid nature of the mind. Thoughts and feelings move across the synapses of the mind in seemingly random patterns. Self Understanding is a mysterious piece that alludes to the nature of the mind and its understanding of self.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Shedding - Art

Shedding is a colorful piece depicting a multi-hued creature shedding its skin. The creature, which resembles a caterpillar, is presented in yellow and orange, colors associated with high levels of energy. The creature is experiencing a rebirth, and accordingly it is imbed with a great deal of energy – the energy of renewal and rebirth. The energy of the caterpillar is contrasted with the cool, green background that it is set against.

Shedding has been associated with rebirth for centuries. The connection is clear – old skin, which represents past experiences, beliefs, or problems, is cast off. Underneath, a new skin is revealed, a healthy new start. This concept is useful to people dealing with trauma, depression, or negative memories. The idea that one can wipe the slate clean and begin again is very appealing, and this painting evokes that hope of a re=energized new existence that can be found by shedding the negativity of the past.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Solo Blossom - Art

Solo Blossom is a visually compelling piece that shows a single flower’s bloom standing alone and upright. The flower is solitary, as suggested by the title, and appears to be strong and firmly rooted. In full bloom, the flower is captured in its prime moment, a moment full of the vigor and strength of full adulthood. The flower is painted in a single color, a cool pinkish shade.

Pink is traditionally a color associated with femininity. By choosing pink as the color for this flower, the artist gives the bloom a female aspect. The flower’s strength and independence reflects the empowerment of women in modern society. Like the flower, women can stand with independence, blooming to their fully realized, adult potential. Like the flower, a woman in her prime can stand alone with strength and confidence, and she can remain unabashedly feminine, like the flower with its pink bloom. This painting’s composition is quite simple, depicting only a flower in a fairly naturalistic manner. Yet closer inspection of Solo Blossom reveals an important and empowering underlying meaning.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Garden - Art

In Garden, a muted color scheme gives this abstract, freeform painting a calm, relaxed mood. The abstract natural landscape presented in this painting is not instantly recognizable as a garden, yet its elements suggest vegetation and growing plant life. Cool greens represent the foliage, while other, more saturated colors add interest, as flower blooms and other points of interest add to the beauty of a realistic garden. Though this piece does not present the reality of a garden, the garden’s essential nature is captured in the abstract design of this piece.
The nature of the garden in this painting is also interesting to note. The shapes in the painting are freeform and natural in appearance. This garden emerges organically out of the plant life that inhabits it. It is not a structured garden, with clean, even rows of flowers and distinct geometric shapes. Instead, this garden develops its own shape, naturally occurring as the plants grow. This garden is essentially nature itself, and Garden illustrates that all of nature is humanity’s garden, to be enjoyed and protected for future generations.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Gentrification - Art

Gentrification is a simple piece that depicts the slow changes that occur over time to any given landscape. The structure of this painting is simple. Black lines crisscross an empty white background in a pattern that resembles a modified, irregular grid. Most of the blocks created by the grid remain empty. These empty blocks embody the original state of the landscape. Uncluttered and vacant, these bare blocks reflect the previous condition of the region.
Yet these blocks are slowly being filled in by color. Little by little, invading colors in shades of purple, yellow, orange, green, and brown have entered the landscape. This invasion of color represents human improvement of the land. In this way, the land is “gentrified” by the introduction of homes, buildings, and other manmade structures. This slow encroachment of humanity on nature is a significant theme in Gentrification, a provocative and meaningful piece.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Future - Art

An enigmatic piece with simple shapes and a monochromatic color scheme, Future is an examination of the nature of time and its passage. A wispy gray orb dominates the painting. This gray orb is a representation of the sun, its airy composition a reflection of the gaseous makeup of the sun and all other stars in our universe. The sun is bordered on the top and the bottom by other abstract shapes.
The dark shape along the bottom of the gray sun is a thick black line with graceful curves. This dark swath of blackness represents the night that comes as the sun disappears from the horizon. On the other side, a light, domed figure represents the day, which comes with the rising of the sun in the morning. The sun’s role in the passage of time, from past to present to future, is skillfully examined in Future, which is becomes examination of the qualities inherent to the passage of time.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Going Away - Art

In Going Away, a muted green landscape lit by a vibrant sun presents a picturesque image, while the painting’s title suggests the fleeting nature of this beautiful landscape. The beauty of the landscape in this piece is immediately apparent. The muted greens give this a peaceful, bucolic appearance, and the bright yellow sun that illuminates the landscape adds an element of warmth and light, imbuing the landscape with a sense of a living ecosystem.
Yet the painting’s title indicates that this beautiful image will not last forever. The effects of global warming and pollution have great potential to destroy nature and the life that exists within it. The green landscape can just as easily be replaced by a barren desert, and the life-giving sun may very well become a dangerous, burning bringer of destruction upon the landscape. The potential for environmental loss is elegantly captured in this beautiful, aptly titled piece.


©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Graves - Art

In Graves, a soothing pastel color scheme presents a unique look at death and its impact on humanity. Grief following a death is a natural element of the human experience. Upon losing a loved one, all people go through a mourning period that is painful and sad. Yet, as this painting illustrates, this painful feeling does not last forever. In the wake of pain and grief can come great calm and serenity, as time heals the wounded and grieving by slowly wearing away pain and sorrow.
The pastel color scheme used in this piece reflects the peace and calm that comes with time. These pale, soothing colors seem themselves faded by time, as if the elements have eroded away all vibrancy. In the same way, time wears away at grief, reducing it to a calm recognition of the certainty of death without fear or pain. Graves provides an interesting perspective on the relationships between death, grief, and time.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Musical Spells - Art

In Musical Spells, the power of music to influence and control human emotion is explored in a densely shaded, monochromatic piece. A musical note, as one would find on a page of sheet music, is an important figure in this painting. The mood of the painting itself is dark, and the painting is filled with shadow and darkness up to its very edges. The painting shows the impact that music can have on the human mood and psyche. Music as the power to change one’s mood, and this strong power is shown by the dense color saturation that dominates this piece.
The painting’s simple lines belie the painting’s strong emotional power. Just like the music that is its subject, this piece draws the viewer under its spell. The painting’s effect on one’s mood is immediate, drawing one in and imposing a dark, moody feeling upon first viewing. This is the nature of art, whether it is a painting or music. The emotional impact of the piece is directly related to its success. And Musical Spells is an emotionally piece that carries a great deal of emotional power, and it also depicts in a vivid way the significant ways that music can control human emotional states, much in the same way that art can.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

My Pen Doesn’t Work - Art

My Pen Doesn’t Work is a tongue-in-cheek, humorous piece with exciting, erratic lines and shapes. The painting’s title suggests a clever joke – namely, that the artist has run out of ink in creating this piece. The result of the lack of ink is shown by the lack of work on one side of the painting. While one side of the canvas is quite full of lines, their wavy movement reflecting energy and excitement, the other side has only a few spare lines. This humorous play on typical painting methodology is a refreshing and startling perspective for this piece.
This piece is a study of abrupt endings and sudden changes. The pen’s running out of ink can be seen as a metaphor for any number of things. For example, the ink running out is similar to time running out, pointing out to the painting’s viewer his own imminent mortality. Just as life’s essence can run out, so can natural resources. The pen runs out of ink before it fills the canvas, and so may humans run out of valuable natural resources before mankind has finished its run on this planet. My Pen Doesn’t Work is a clever piece that brings the reader into an awareness of the limited nature of many of life’s most important things.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Nautical Sunburst - Art

In Nautical Sunburst, a central bloom dominates the painting, its blossom straining upward with obvious force. The title and the wavy line that stretches across the painting suggest that this bloom exists at sea, rising up from the water toward the sky. Also suggested is the idea that this bloom is in fact a sunburst, or rather that it is not a flower in the typical sense, but more likely a heated explosion. The red color of the sunburst, which calls to mind heat and flames, also corroborates this understanding of the sunburst as an explosion with a great deal of power, energy, and heat.
The nature of this sunburst, its occurrence in the middle of the sea and its obvious heat and power, suggests an explosion. This sunburst is likely the result of the bombing of a ship or other man-made explosion on the water. This painting becomes a depiction of war and its effects. The power of human weapons to release energy and heat is captured in Nautical Sunburst, a striking image of nautical warfare. This piece is simple, yet it is quite effective and leaves the viewer with a strong impression of the explosive sunburst and the powerful upward movement of explosive energy and fire being released into the sky.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Ten suggestions

Never Stop and Wonder - Art

In Never Stop and Wonder, the erratic and unpredictable nature of the universe is captured in a few unstable, volatile lines. The painting’s title admonishes the viewer not to stop and wonder about the things seen in the world at large. Like the erratic, jumpy lines of the painting, life cannot be explained or understood fully, and so there is no point in stopping to wonder about the strange, sometimes frightening things that can be seen in one’s environment.
The painting’s lines are jagged and unpredictable, moving across the painting in no discernible pattern. This jumble of lines reflects the energy and chaos of the universe, and, though there is an immediate desire in the viewer to impose some kind of order on these unruly lines and shapes, it is not possible to do so. Just as one cannot impose order on the universe, the wild, uncontrolled lines of this piece cannot be forced into any prescribed shape or form.
Never Stop and Wonder is a vivid abstract piece that is almost frantic in its strange and indomitable lines. All the strangeness and fearsome finality of the universe is captured in this piece. The painting’s lines seem to defy human control, just as the universe also cannot be fully comprehended or controlled by mankind.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Prudent silence

Heart Sake - Art

In Heart Sake, the shape of a human heart is abstracted, providing a study of one of the most important components of the human body. The shape of the heart is apparent upon first viewing this painting. The shape of the figure is not a traditional symbolic heart, but rather a naturalistic representation of the form of an actual, living heart. A red color was chosen to represent the blood being pumped through this important living organ.
Yet the heart does not appear to be entirely healthy. A gray cloud seems to surround the heart, bordering it on all sides. This gray color represents disease or malformation that affects the functioning of the heart. These dangers threaten to cut off the blood supply to the heart, as the gray cloud is extended around the entire heart, surrounding it with potential danger.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Holding Us Together - Art

Holding Us Together is a beautiful and moving painting that portrays a pair of interlocked hands in a naturalistic style. Though slightly distorted, the outline and shape of the interlaced hands is quite clear. The hands are clutching each other quite closely, giving a strong impression of human connection. As the title suggests, the hands are a point of connection, a point at which two people bring themselves closer together. Physical contact is an important human need, and this painting evokes the strong pull of this need and the feelings of comfort and security that can be had through human contact.
This piece is drawn in charcoal tones, giving focus to the shape of the hands and their position within the frame. The hands are central in the frame, giving them an important focus, and the criss-crossed fingers of the hands are drawn carefully and realistically. The beauty of this piece is quite striking, and Holding Us Together leaves the viewer with a greater appreciation of the importance of human physical contact and friendship.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Life Delivered - Art

Life Delivered is a monochromatic, minimalist piece that invokes the miraculous nature of life. The image portrayed in this painting is unusual, yet vaguely familiar. The central structure is lined with two steps that appear to connect. This image presents a picture of a young, developing life receiving sustaining substances through the connecting stems. Life is nurtured and prepared for its delivery into the world, its needs provided for during this crucial time.
The regenerative qualities of life have made development and birth a popular subject in art from many different periods. Like death, birth is a universal feature of life. All life must begin and end, and these two most significant milestones have bee captured by artists working in many media and styles. The emergence of life is a profound occurrence, and Life Delivered is part of a long tradition of artistic portrayal of birth.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Hear Me - Art

In Hear Me, abstract forms in a dark, monochromatic color scheme give this painting a sense of auditory experience, and the piece becomes both a visual and auditory experience for the viewer. The dark shapes that are the central focus of this painting waft across a bare, white background, seemingly floating without gravity or restriction. These waves represent sound waves emerging from a source and wafting out across the atmosphere.
These waves of sound appear aimless and directionless. They waft out into the world without any steering force of their own. Herein lies the meaning of the painting and its title. Without a hearer, these sounds are meaningless and will fade into the air without having any effect on the world around them. If they are heard, however, the sounds produce meaning, which gives them more substance than the ethereal waves that they appear to be in this painting.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Inner Hurricane - Art

In Inner Hurricane, a swirling image in a monochromatic color scheme invokes all the danger and intensity of a hurricane. One of the most dangerous weather phenomena on the planet, an impending hurricane is a source of human anxiety in many regions of the world. A powerful, swirling wind that brings heavy rain and destruction, this force of nature can be seen as a metaphor for equally powerful and destructive forces in the human mind. Just as weather conditions bring about a dangerous storm, so can emotional conditions create the potential for a dangerous and intense storm inside a person’s mind.
The swirling image portrayed in this piece evokes a movement and energy that is intense and captivating. The darkness of the broad strokes in this piece creates a sense of menace and anxiety, and the coiling configuration of the lines suggests a roiling mass of moving force. The internal struggle depicted in this piece is violent and powerful, indicating a basic internal struggle between opposing forces. Inner Hurricane provides an image of the difficulty and strain that is the result of internal strife.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Historipre - Art

Historipre is a dark piece that depicts an amorphous, abstract shape in a monochromatic color scheme. The figure presented in this piece is wispy and cloud-like, as though one’s fingers might slip easily through its substance. Hazy circles and lines combine to form a beautiful and striking abstract image. The blurred edges of the lines and shapes in this piece give the impression of dissipation, of something fading away slowly over time.
The deterioration of the objects in this painting suggests the passage of time. Time moves slowly over everything in the universe, slowly changing and breaking down objects by a number of physical processes. This painting reveals the way that history unfolds, constantly bringing about the destruction of old buildings, artifacts, and other objects by a slow and persistent deterioration. Historipre examines this slow deterioration and its effects on the world.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Mothers - Art

Mothers is a moving piece featuring several simply drawn human figures. A study in motherhood, this piece captures the shape and lines of the female form. A group of women, representing maternal power and femininity, move across the painting in a line. The central figure in the painting has a tribal appearance, as though the figure is presiding over some sort of mystic spiritual ritual. This religious rite is likely a ritual of fertility, common in many cultures.
The blurry edges of the female forms depicted in this painting suggest vigorous movement. The women are not simply trudging or marching across the frame of the painting. Rather, they are moving jubilantly and with energy, filled with joy at performing this significant cultural ritual. Mothers gives a strongly positive portrayal of motherhood, focusing on its joys and excitement. Also implied by the ritualistic nature of this piece is the connection between mothers of different times in human history. An ever-present aspect of the human condition, motherhood and the power of childbirth is a strong link between modern women and women of centuries past.


©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Part Substance - Art

Part Substance is an abstract painting with beautiful, vibrant colors. The color scheme of this piece includes the contrasting colors of blue and yellow. The cool qualities of the blue color in this piece juxtaposed against the warm energy of yellow are quite striking. This color scheme is quite appealing, bringing out the vibrant qualities of both shades by this interesting pairing of colors. Color scheme is an important aspect of abstract pieces such as this one, and the choice of these two colors is quite effective, bringing out the qualities of both through a skillful pairing.
The painting’s meaning is implied in its title. The blue swaths of color represent a tangible substance, something that can be seen or touched. These blue streaks create an image of matter in the universe, such as water or rock, cool and fully formed, and completely stable in its mass. The yellow color in the painting represents light and energy, the other significant reality in the universe. The title indicates the close connection between energy and matter, one having the capacity to change into the other at any moment. The painting itself levitates between matter and energy, depicting something just on the verge of changing.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

New Universe - Art

In New Universe, a bright swirl of colors embodies the energy and motion of the birth of a universe. Immediately calling to mind the scientific theory of the Big Bang, this painting shows an expanding, ever-growing universe deriving from a central point. The lines of the painting spiral outward, a visual representation of the constantly expanding state of our universe. Just as everything in the universe originated from a single, explosive moment, the painting’s colors and lines generate from a central location from which the painting’s energy seems to emerge.
The colors of the universe embody the many elements and materials that were part of the universe’s explosive expansion. A wide range of cool and warm colors can be found in this piece, from a vibrant red shade to a cool, muted green. This all-encompassing color scheme represents the fact that everything in the universe originated in the Big Bang, from icy comets hurtling through space to blazing stars made of constantly burning gas. The full range of the universe came from this one instant, and New Universe captures the amazing phenomenon of the birth of a universe through evocative lines of movement and a striking mix of colors.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

One Note - Art

One Note is a piece that depicts the beauty of a single note of music. Often, the most compelling and beautiful moments in a piece of moment is the singing or playing of a single, beautifully executed sustained note. The sustained note depicted in this piece arcs across the canvas, simulating the nuances of a note sustained by the human voice. A singer might crescendo across the duration of the note, its beautiful sound swelling and growing in intensity as the note is sustained.
It is often said that the visual arts mirror the qualities and characteristics of music. This painting is an artistic representation of a beautiful, sustained note. Just as these singular moments in a piece of music convey deep emotion by the very solitariness and isolated beauty of a sustained solo note, so does the lone image of an arching, swelling figure in this piece convey more emotion than any lushly painted, densely full painting could manage to get across.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Medieval Dreams - Art

Medieval Dreams is a visually compelling piece with a strong sense of movement. This piece gives the impression of a great flurry of activity, such as one would see in a medieval town square or country fair. This stream of bustling life reveals to the painting’s viewer what life may have been like for people living during the medieval period. Though the medieval period was a time of slow technological and ideological advancement, since the Industrial Revolution, people have looked back on the medieval period with nostalgia. The medieval period has the reputation of being a simpler, calmer time during which people did not have to worry about the dangers of industrial growth, pollution, and growing levels of stress and danger.

Yet this piece gives a different view of the medieval period. Rather than a lackadaisical, slow-moving way of life, the painting depicts medieval life as an active, busy experience. This painting calls up the noise and excitement of the marketplace, as goods are exchanged between excited, talkative medieval people. Though the painting does not depict any concrete objects suggestive of the time period, the natural earthy colors of the piece suggest a medieval subject. No artificial, man-made colors appear, for medieval people built their homes, horse carts, and tools from natural materials that were available at the time. This beautiful piece captures the essential nature of life in the Middle Ages, focusing primarily on it the excitement and activity of the marketplace.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

Raised Threat - Art

Raised Threat is a dark piece with a foreboding figure featured in the center of the painting. The dark gray column that rises from the bottom of the painting depicts the rising threat alluded to in the painting’s title. The column has a definite feeling of upward movement, as if the threat has not yet reached its peak, but rather continues to rise at an alarming rate. The dark, monochromatic color scheme gives this figure a forbidding impression, and it seems to dominate the painting entirely, looming over everything with a menacing power.
The shape of the column is also important to note. Its fast upward movement, and general shape vaguely resemble a mushroom cloud that results from a nuclear explosion. Perhaps the threat mentioned in the title is a nuclear threat that continues to rise as the world’s politics become more and more embroiled in conflict and controversy. The threat of a nuclear explosion is quite real and very dangerous, for such an explosion could destroy life as mankind currently understands it. Raised Threat is an intriguing piece that brings up important ideas that are particularly relevant to the current state of the modern world.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved