Artist Research

            Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” and Alma Woodsey Thomas’ “Starry Night with Astronauts” is very similar paintings but they have their differences. They are much the same in color but divergent in texture. The forms in each of these paintings are very different.  The movement in each piece is different but the patterns are alike in many ways. Both of these paintings seem to be very loose and abstract.

            Both Van Gogh and Alma Woodsey’s painting appear to be very similar in color. The variety of different shades and tints of blues in each piece really link them together. Also, the yellows in both pieces make them similar. Although the textures in each painting are very different because of the pattern each artist chose to create. Van Gogh chose very tight smooth pattern. Woodsey chose a very loose block pattern and texture. Woodsey’s painting seems to have a 2D appearance and Van Gogh’s painting looks flat. Both of them have a sense of feel to them.

            They both are different in form and structure. Van Gogh created a complex scene in his painting. The way he arranged the objects in his painting created a balance of flow through out the entire piece. Woodsey’ form was not as complex as Van Gogh. She chose to use repetition to create her form.

            Movement in these paintings is very different. Van Gogh’s painting has a swirl movement over the horizon. The horizon line leads your eye from left to right on his painting but in Woodsey’s painting the movement is vertical. My eye instantly goes up in down when I see this painting. They both had a good method to created these paintings.

            Overall every artist has his or her own style. They both have different methods, techniques, and format. I like Van Gogh’s style better personally because it’s less abstract then Woodsey’s. They are both good paintings and I find that it is very hard for me to compare artwork.