Art Critique 1

Midnight Madness

This image by western artist Virgil C. Stephens is an original oil paint. It is currently being sold on his webpage. The artist’s growing up on a ranch in Arizona has a great contribution to his talent in art, which his also portrayed in "Midnight Madness". He greatly enjoys the painting of musical art.
The colors in this picture are chosen very carefully. On the outside they are dark, and they get lighter the further you move in, up until it’s white in the center. There are many different shades of blue represented in this painting. The background is very inconsistent. The first thing you notice when looking at the image is the piano and the keys. The movement of these is emphasized by the drawing of lines around them. This also gives the picture a certain rhythm. The keys are also emphasized by the subtle darker colors around them. The keys are unproportional to the piano itself, which conveys a feeling of them moving toward the viewer. Even though this painting delivers the feeling of energy, confusion, and excitement, it still has a harmony in it that is smoothing. Also, the piano and its keys are being personalized by its distortion and its apparent movement.
Though there are several questions in the viewers mind, there is one major one. What music is associated with this picture? Most people would come to the conclusion that it is something allegro and rather dramatic due to the displayed movement. What is the story behind the picture? What is the reason for the happiness and energy shown in it? Is it playing something classical like Mozart, or maybe something modern like Queen? These are all things running through a viewers head.