An expert at creating likable characters and placing them in dangerous situations while keeping things wholesome for a reader who may not like gore, violence or misogyny, Gary Alan Ruse has a number of novels in his list of creations.
I picked three of Gary’s novels to introduce to you today. These three books show a consistent close attention to detail, clever use of characterization and fabulous sense of dramatic tension.
These three titles are my favorites. Treasure Seekers is an adventure tale, Morlac is fantasy and Aggie and Agent X is a “blend of science fiction and mystery.”
Once I began reading the book, I couldn’t stop. I just needed to know what happened to Mark and the group and could not put the book down.
A mysterious creature, “a demon,” brings down the plane transporting Mark’s friend as he scouts a remote location in Africa for treasure. When Mark finds out, he is driven to find out what happened to his friend and recover a treasure.
I love quests, so this book really satisfied my desires. The best thing about this book is its fairness. There is a tendency out there to create a book that ends in a cliffhanger just so the reader has to wait for the next part. This book was really like a trilogy. It had it all.
Morlac is raised from a sea creature for mysterious purposes and has to travel through magical lands to vanquish evil. Along the way, he meets fantastic beings and gains friends. There are evil mages who would like to end his quest. In the final part of the book, the magician who leads the undead against Morlac was scary.
This is a book that I have a special fondness for because I dressed up like Aggie for a talent show. It was so much fun. The book is a science fiction mystery genre bender.
Aggie is a CIA agent who is beginning her spy journey when she is teamed up with Agent X. It is surprising for her to learn of his many secret powers and his Top Secret origins.
According to Gary Alan Ruse, the painter, he created this painting from memory after seeing a photograph. While cleaning, I found the painting and liked it immediately. After some dusting, I found it intact, even though there was some damage to its frame. Hirsh at Rosemont gives a lecture on understanding art that inspired me to look at Zebras Grazing Before Mount Kilimanjaro in a new way. Her lecture on color guided me on generating a deeper response to the painting because, although I understood intuitively that the painting was calming, her discussion of how artists manipulate color showed me why.
Ruse uses color expertly to create a feeling of calm in the scene. The painting is of a family of zebras. There are three adult zebras and one smaller zebra peacefully grazing near a watering hole. Behind them rises the rounded peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain seems to protect them like an older family member. Most of the colors are cool colors like blue, teal and shades of green. Even the warm tan of the grasses is interspersed with tufts of green. The white and black of the zebras are surrounded by a rounded frame of forest green in the trees. Because of the Hirsh lecture, I see now that this use of cool colors has the effect of calming the viewer. It seems completely intuitive. This was the reason why when looking at the painting, I felt calm.
Ruse varies the intensity of the color in another way with the shades of blue. The blue of the water is mixed with white and other colors to create the representation of sunlight on the water as well as the reflection of the zebra’s face. Similarly, dark colors are used as shadow to indicate the position of the sun as well as to add dimension and fullness to their bodies. The clouds have an added pink color to suggest a refraction of sunshine also. But the best use of color is the way that the dark green contrasts the blue of the mountain. It almost enshrines the zebra family like a cameo from the vastness of the uninterrupted sky.
So, it’s no wonder that my response would be positive. I felt pleasure while admiring this painting because the cool colors were soothing. The use of color did not jar me with any unwelcome surprising clashes. The varying intensity of the blue created a meditative feeling. Finally, the saturation of the blue made the mountain friendly. It was not really intense blue, but it was like a soft light color, almost like powder blue. I have seen mountains that were sharp, jagged and icy. They communicated danger, but in this painting the mount’s color suggested that it protected the zebra family. Color was used with heart to make this painting soothe an aching heart, and I thank the artist.
Point of view and focal points are planned and constructed by the artist with a specific purpose in mind
Thinking about point of view and focal points when analyzing or looking at a work of art can bring great enjoyment and appreciation for the work. In thinking about how the artist structured the figures in the painting or sculpture, one can get more satisfaction from the painting.
What are focal points, and what is point of view?
When looking at representational art, focal points and point of view direct the viewer and create a relationship between her and the subject of the work. The artist strictly controls the ways that the viewer’s attention and gaze travel across the work.
“Focal points work to predetermine the viewer’s approach to the painting,” says Hirsch. A focal point is the place in the painting where the eye is led to rest longest. A work can have more than one focal point or none at all. Sculptures can have multiple focal points that lead the viewer from one to the next as the artist intends. The key to remember about focal points and points of view is that nothing is by accident, and everything is plotted in advance by the artist.
Similarly, point of view determines where the viewer is in relation to the subject. Some artists use arches and curtains to place distance between the work and the viewer. This will create a passive stance in the viewer, as if watching the events or people portrayed from a seat in a theater.
Point of view can augment the subject by placing the viewer in a “worm’s eye view” or a “bird’s eye view.” This will create either a suggestion of power in the viewer or power in the subject. In a “worm’s eye view,” the subject is elevated in relation to the viewer and so is placed in a position of power. In these ways, the artist controls the view of the scene. In “bird’s eye view,” the person looking at the painting scenes to be looking down at the scene in the painting, while in “worm’s eye view” they are looking up. This is a deliberate choice by the artist.
Examples for discussion
David Gives Uriah A Letter for Joab. Pieter Lastman, (1619). Using light and shadow, Lastman creates a focal point on David’s face. His gaze stares at Uriah whom he betrays, leading the viewer there too.
David. Donatello, (1440?), Bronze. In this sculpture, the focal points are many. David’s chest is wide and lead the eyes up to the face which looks down to Goliath’s head.
Relativity. Maurits Cornelis Escher, (1953). A lithograph, this work’s focal points are created by the placement of the figures on the stairs. The effect is whimsical and serves to amuse the eye. The point of view created by the skewed directions of the figures confuses the eye. In some places, the viewer looks upwards in worm’s eye view, while in the instance of the seated figure, the viewer is in bird’s eye view.
Christ of St. John of the Cross. Salvador Dalí, (1951). An incredible study in point of view, Dalí gives a viewer the chance to see Christ from the Heavens. His gaze leads the eyes down past the darkness to a morning by a river with a boat and two fishermen. The focal points are created using a variation of color and light. With this movement of focal points and play with point of view, the artist tells a story.
Christ on the Cross. El Greco, (1600-1610). In contrast to Dalí’s painting, this work has a slightly upturned point of view. The viewer looks on Christ slightly from below. Also, the undulating of the body creates a confusion. Here, Christ is alone but finally free of the bondage of the world and its suffering. His gaze tells that story as it looks to Heaven.
These are my notes from a lecture presented on Great Courses through the kind permission of my local library. It can also be accessed through Kanopy. The instructor is named Sharon Latshaw Hirsch, and she gave these lectures from Rosemont College. The title of the lecture is Where Am I? Point of View and Focal Point. Here is a link to the series. This does not constitute an endorsement and aside from personal growth, we did not gain from presenting this link.
Latschaw Hirsh, Sharon, “Where Am I? Point of View and Focal Point,” Great Courses: How to Look at and Understand Great Art,” from Hoopla, (Accessed June 2, 2024).
Noriega is leading artists in Miami in the path of discovery this Thursday, June 6th, 2024. 🆕🆕🆕 Updated to Tuesday, June 20th, 2024.
Noriega, who communicates, at times, anguish or whimsy to create sublime representational and abstract art, is offering this Thursday a day workshop titled “Faces and Expressions.”
The workshop is an opportunity to develop and practice the art of sculpture by working to build a face.
It will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., light lunch will be served and materials provided. The cost of this workshop will be $150.
There is no dress code, aprons will be available. The workshops are to be held at her studio in Cutler Bay.
Along with this event, Noriega will be leading a series in summer with other days in June beginning later in the month.
Noriega, approachable, kind and friendly, will help make this afternoon of sculpture and exploration fun and rewarding.
Not only an artist, Noriega has experience as an art educator and has posted numerous videos to YouTube where skills can be honed and developed following her instructions. Here is a link to her channel: https://m.youtube.com/@PuchiNoriega.
According to the artist, “a couple of spots are available” to enjoy a day of sculpture. To sign up, reach out to the artist at noriegapuchi@gmail.com.
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